Bloody Moon
by FairyLullaby
Summary: "Love flourishes through the darkest of times. It grows like the wildflowers through the debris of shuttered lives and dreams..." NaruHina
1. Chapter 1: The beginning

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OTHER PRODUCTS IN THIS FANFICTION. I **ONLY OWN THE STORYLINE!**

**Here is a rewritten and revised version of a Naruto fanfic I wrote a few years back. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: The beginning**

_She saw flames that rose to the ceiling, smoke that couldn't let her breath while screams of women and men alike were feeling every last inch of the compound, what was this? What was going on? _

_She was running with her small frail legs trembling like the leaves against the wind._

_There were bodies on the floors, bodies of people she knew, but they were not moving an inch now. _

_She started crying. What was going on? Why was there blood everywhere she looked at?_

_Suddenly she heard someone shouting after her._

"_Hinata!", she turned and saw an elderly woman with dark purple eyes running towards her._

"_Hinata dear!", the woman knelt down and hugged her granddaughter tightly. "You are alive! Oh Kami-sama you are alive my child!". The woman was crying from both relief and sorrow and while she didn't say much, her deep eyes spoke a thousand truths that the small child in her arms was never meant to know. She took Hinata by her small hand and they run together away from the blood-filled scenery burning up by flames. People were running manically through the halls._

"_Here quickly!" Two Hyuga men shouted and motioned towards the heavy wooden door they were holding open. "Hitomi-sama, Hinata-sama, come quickly"_

_They passed the door to the room were children and women were gathered in order to be protected, but before the men could close the door, Hinata suddenly slipped her hand from within her grandma's and ran outside the room._

"_Hinata! Wait-" Hitomi tried to run after her granddaughter, but Kaito Hyuga and his thirteen year old younger brother, Ko, stopped her before she could leave._

"_No, Hitomi-sama" Kaito said. "You have to stay here, we will find her"._

_Hinata, ran through the main hall of the compound leading outside. She had to find her parents, no matter what._

Hinata shot up from her bed with a scream still on her lips. Her eyes were opened wide and cold sweat was making her hair and nightgowns stick to her face and body.

That nightmare, she was having that same nightmare over and over again during the past few days. Every time she would close her eyes, all she would see were fire, blood and dead bodies scattered all around her.

Once she finally calmed her breath she rose from her bed and headed towards the bathroom attached to her room. She slipped off of her clothes, got under the shower and let the cold water take her thoughts away. When finished, she stepped out of the shower, warping a lavender towel around her slender and curvy body.

Looking herself in the mirror, she extended her hand and lightly touched the glass were her reflection was_. _She was definitely not that little child she remembered from her dreams anymore. She had grown up to become a full grown woman. At her nineteen years she had everything she wanted, her family, her friends, and a successful career as a Jonin of Konohagakure, yet she still felt somewhat empty, as if a part of her heart was missing.

'_Get a hold of yourself Hinata. You don't deserve him anyway.'_ She thought as she finished dressing up and drying her hair. She was dressed in a black shirt with sleeves that ended to her elbows, a pair of black shorts which came inches above her knees and a pair of black shinobi sandals among with her head protector around her neck. _'Now where is my jonin vest?'_

"Looking for this nee-chan?" a teasing voice said from the doorway of her room.

"I knew you had yet again taken it. ' Hinata said with a smile as she shook her head. "Come on now… give it to me please." Hinata laughed.

"Nope" the other person in the room said.

"Huh?" Hinata asked in wonder.

"I'm not giving it to you. After all, it looks better on me." The other person said teasingly as she stuck out her tongue.

With a quick motion the other person turned around and run out of the room with a laughing Hinata chasing her through the corridors of the hyuga compound.

"Come on Hanabi nee-chan….give it back!" Hinata whined with a laugh escaping her lips.

"No" Hanabi said in a sing-song voice as she run into the dining room with Hinata following behind.

"What's going on here?" A man at his forties said strictly. He was sitting at the head of the dining table with a 19 year old boy sitting next to him. Neji raised his left eyebrow in wonder when he saw Hanabi, who wore a jonin vest, and Hinata chasing after her.

"Nothing." Hanabi said trying to play it innocent. Hinata lightly laughed.

"She doesn't give my jonin vest back." She said with a smile.

"Hanabi give the vest back to Hinata." Hiashi ordered his youngest daughter with a strict voice but inside he was smiling. His two daughters had grown up to be very attached to each other despite their rivalry when younger. He was happy to know that his daughters loved each other.

"Ok ok, here take it." Hanabi said with a cute pout and a playful smile gracing her lips as she handed her older sister her vest.

"Thank you" Hinata said as she put her vest on and leaned down to whisper to her sister "It really looks better on you imouto" and kissed her sister.

"Now sit down you two and have some breakfast." Hiashi said.

"I'm sorry Otou-san but we have less than 10 minutes till our meeting with the Hokage." Hinata said worried as she looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

"Seriously?" Neji chocked on his tea. Hinata only nodded her head in response.

"Then go. You shouldn't be late to meet the Hokage." Hiashi said, dismissing them.

"Ok then, let's go Hinata-sama." Neji said as he rose from his seat, heading towards the front door with Hinata following behind him.

"Goodbye Otou-san, Hanabi nee-chan!"

"Goodbye Hiashi-sama, Hanabi-sama"

"Bye nee-chan, nii-san!" Hanabi yelled from the dining room and Hiashi shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the headache his youngest daughter caused him so early in the morning.

"Goodbye you two."

Stepping out of the house both teens burst into laughing.

"Well that was just an awesome way to begin your day." Neji said in between laughs.

"Indeed" Hinata replied with a laugh. The two of them stopped laughing though, as soon as two very familiar men approached them.

"Good morning jii-san" Hinata and Neji bowed in front of their grandpa.

"Good morning to you too, Hideo-san." Hinata said in a more serious voice as her smile left her lips and her face became impassive. She never liked that man. He belonged to the Hyuga council and would always criticise and try to humiliate her in front of everyone else. Even Hiashi, who was strict himself, didn't like Hideo-san. In fact he hated him. Neji would always have a bad comment to make for that specific man and she would always agree even if she never expressed her opinion about Hideo out loud. It wasn't just that he was strict and all but he was emitting a bad aura as well. Hinata was always afraid that one day this man would be the cause of something very bad. If only she knew how right she was.

"Good morning Hinata, Neji." Their grandpa said as he nodded towards them acknowledging the both with a weak smile.

"Good Morning Hinata-sama, Neji-san." Hideo said sending them both a look full of hate and his voice like poison.

"Where are you two going to so early in the morning?" Their grandpa asked them.

"We have a meeting with the Hokage jii-sama and to tell you the truth we are kind of late." Neji said.

"Oh then what are you doing still standing here? Go and give my greetings to Hokage-sama when you see her." He replied with a very light smile.

"Ok Goodbye jii-san… Hideo-san." Hinata and Neji bowed politely and turned to walk out of the compound.

"Goodbye Hinata-sama." Hideo said with an evil smile that for his good luck, the Hyuga Elder didn't see.

xxxxxxxxxx

Sasuke sighted for the millionth time that same morning. He had been banging on that dobe's door for over half an hour now and he was beyond pissed. _'Damn that dobe. I'm so going to kill him once he opens the door.'_

-"Oi Sasuke. What are you doing out here?" A silver haired ninja said as he approached him. The man was in his mid thirties, with a masculine body and dressed in his typical jonin attire.

He walked towards Sasuke and stopped to stand next to the 18 year old raven, his face buried in his green icha-icha book as always.

"Jeez Sensei, how can you read that shit excuse of a book in 6:30 in the morning? Not to mention that you've read it 40 times already and I bet you've learnt it by heart by now." Said Sasuke, his face impassive.

"I've read the book 43 times Sasuke and I've known it by heart since the third time I read it. Moreover it is NOT_ a shit excuse of a book_ as you so characteristically said. It is ART." Kakashi said in a monotonous voice as he closed his book with a '_tap_' sound and stored it in one of his jonin vest's pockets.

"It is a book for peeerverts!" Sasuke said dragging the word 'perverts' to give emphasis and giving Kakashi a 'You-can't-be-serious' look.

"And what gave you that idea exactly?"

"Don't make me describe it!" Sasuke said with a disgusting look.

"Ok then I'll describe it for you." Kakashi said with a goofy smile visible from underneath his mask. "It is about a man and a woman and they-"

"No, no please stop… I can't stand this so early in the morning. More than that, I still have nightmares from your last narration of _this book_, thank you very much." Sasuke said horrified.

"Well well, since when does the great Sasuke Uchiha talk that much?" Kakashi laughed.

"What did you expect? Hanging out with Naruto as much as I and Sakura do, it can really brush off on you. Even Sai has started speaking up a bit, not to mention he has become a worse pervert than Naruto or you."

"Sounds perfectly normal to mel." Kakashi said with an impassive expression. "Speaking of Naruto…what are you doing yelling outside his apartment?" he asked.

"I wonder why you even ask. Isn't it obvious? I've been banging on that moron's door like FOREVER and he doesn't hear a thing." Sasuke replied angrily.

"And why exactly don't you break the door?" Kakashi asked.

"That simple?" Sasuke asked with a 'Why-didn't-I-think-of-that-before' look and silently cursed under his breath.

"That simple." Kakashi repeated.

"Oh break the damn door already." A familiar voice said from behind them.

"I don't think that this would be polite Kiba." Shino said trying to put some mind into his impulsive friend and comrade.

"Were did you two come from now?" Sasuke asked.

"Pfff… Naruto told us yesterday to meet up at his apartment and then head towards the Hokage Tower for our meeting with the Hokage. Choji and Shikamaru will be here at around ten minutes and I saw Sai on the way. Hinata and Neji will head together towards The hokage Tower and the same goes for Tenten and Lee. Sakura had a night shift at the hospital from what I know and she will go to Tsunade-sama as soon as she is done with her work. That leaves me, Shino, you, Shikamaru, Choji, Sai and that sleeping idiot in there. So will you now break the door or not? We have less than twenty minutes." Kiba tried to reason.

Without any second thoughts, Sasuke kicked the door open breaking it on the process.

-"**BAKAAA! WAKE UUUUP!**" Sasuke screamed angrily as he entered the small apartment.

Naruto instantly shot up from his bed, his deep blue eyes half-open and his blonde spiked hair messier than ever.

-"Wha-What happe-*yawn* happened?" Naruto asked tiredly as he raised his eyes to see his raven haired best friend. "Oh it's *yawn* you teme" he yawned and fell back to bed.

- "You baka. WAKE UP ALREADY MORON!" Sasuke yelled above his lungs but that didn't seem to faze Naruto who was half-asleep on his bed again.

- "We need more effective solutions here." Kiba said as he approached Naruto's bed and leaned down to whisper to his ear.

-"Hey Naruto, Hinata will be waiting at the Hokage's office you know. You don't want to set her up, do you?" Kiba whispered teasingly.

-"I'm up." Naruto said as he shot up from bed yet again as soon as Kiba said about Hinata.

-"Thank Kami-sama.!" Sasuke said.

-"Oh shut up teme. I would wake up anyway alright." Naruto said while searching for his jonin vest. He was already dressed in black pants, black T-shirt, the shinobi sandals and his iron plated black gloves, a gift Kakashi gave him after the end of the war, but he couldn't find his jonin vest anywhere.

'_Shit!' _Naruto thought, still searching. _'Where the hell could it be? AHA! Here it is!'_ he thought as he found his vest under a mountain of clothes that needed to be washed. _'I should really clean this place up today.'_ He thought as he zipped up his vest and turned around to address his friends but…

"Good morning, dick less!" Sai said happily as soon as Naruto turned around coming face to face with him.

"Damn you Sai! You scared the hell out of me there. You don't show up to people like that you know." Naruto said.

"First of all you deserved it and secondly… what kind of a 'skilled' shinobi are you dobe if you let your guard down like that? Jeez…." Sasuke said.

"Oh shut up you…." Naruto replied angrily waving his fist in front of Sasuke's face.

"Break it up you two." Kakashi said.

"Ummm…." A familiar voice said and everyone in the apartment turned to find a confused Shikamaru and Choji standing at the door way. "What did we miss?"

xxxxxxxx

"Do you have any idea of what Thunade-sama may want to tell us so early in the morning?" Hinata asked her cousin.

"No but whatever it is, it must be serious. I mean…she sent anbus yesterday night to inform us all about an urgent meeting with her today. She didn't call one or two of us but all the Konoha 13 and if it was about a mission she would tell us in a more reasonable time as she always does." Neji replied in thought. It was truly a mystery what their Hokage wanted them for but they would soon find out anyway.

"Yeah, I guess…"

"What's up with you today Hinata?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean that you seem a little down today. Ever since we left the compound you look like something is bagging you."

"It's nothing really. It's just that I've been having that same dream lately…"

"What dream?"

"Well it is like a memory of mine I didn't even remember it ever happened. It is just confusing."

Hey don't worry now it-"

"Neji!" a man yelled from a distance. '_Ibiki Morino? What is he doing here?'_

"Hinata you go on… I'll come to the meeting in a short while. Seems like something came up." Neji said and Hinata nodded turning around and walking towards the Hokage Tower. Neji sighted. Ibiki Morino? That couldn't be good.

"I'm listening." Neji said with a serious tone as he approached the older man. The odd expression on the other man's face shocked him a bit. Ibiki seemed…worried? _'That certainly cannot be any good.' He thought._

_Xxxxxxxxx_

"Shit!" Naruto cursed.

"What is it now dobe?" Sasuke asked. They were all walking peacefully towards the Hokage Tower until that dobe cursed. Now why did he have a bad feeling about this?

"I forgot the scrolls Obaa-chan asked for, back home." Naruto sweat dropped feeling Sasuke's killing intent rising.

"You did WHAT?" Sasuke asked. How could such an idiot be his best friend?

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mattered.

"Where are you going you moron?" Sasuke yelled irritated after a running Naruto.

"I'm going back home to get them. You all go on and I'll catch up with you soon." Naruto yelled back while running towards his apartment.

Reaching his apartment, Naruto immediately opened the now fixed door and stepped in searching for the scrolls Tsunade had asked for.

'_Where are they? Oh shit, I can't find them. Obaa-chan is so going to kill me….Where are they, where…AHA, EUREKA!'_

Naruto bent down to retrieve the scrolls when something else caught his eye.

There right next to his alarm clock on his night table was a photograph of sixteen smiling friends. Everybody was in the picture, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, himself, Sasuke, Sai, Sakura, Choji, Ino, Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, Lee, Kiba, Shino and Hinata.

Naruto's fingers ghosted over Hinata, a smile filled with melancholy crossed his lips. _'Hinata…If only I could tell you…' _he thought as he rose on his feet again with the scrolls in his hands.

"I will tell you…I…I promise…de-detebayo…" He mattered to himself and sprinted out of the apartment and through the streets of Konoha.

'_Crap, crap, crap… I'M LATE!' _Naruto thought running through the main doors of the Hokage Tower in full speed only to bump into someone else. He didn't know how it all happened and he was within seconds on top of the other person on the floor with the scrolls fallen all around them. Opening their eyes to see what happened they both gasped.

-"Naruto-kun"

-"Hinata"


	2. Chapter 2: To protect you

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OTHER PRODUCTS IN THIS FANFICTION. I **ONLY OWN THE STORYLINE!**

**Here is a rewritten and revised version of a Naruto fanfic I wrote a few years back. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: To Protect you**

-"I'm so sorry Hinata-chan" Naruto said getting off Hinata and helping her up as well, with a blush staining his cheeks.

-"Don't worry Naruto-kun." Hinata replied with a cute blush and a smile that made the oh so great Naruto Uzumaki freeze on the spot and gasp. _'_Damn, she is so beautiful. She is like an angel. Oh fuck my life, Hinata would never like me that way… she deserves much better than me anyways._' _Naruto thought, his face saddening.

-"Naruto-kun, are you ok?" Hinata asked concerned. She had never seen Naruto like that before. He was always so happy and cheerful that it made her heart ache to see him like that. 'I only wish I could tell you…'She thought, smiling sadly to herself.

-"Yeah I'm alright Hinata-chan. Don't worry about it!" Naruto said as he offered her a weak smile, his ocean blue eyes staring deeply into her light lavender ones.

-"Oh Naruto-kun, I' so sorry for all this mess…" Hinata said, bending to collect the fallen scrolls.

-"Don't be Hina-chan, It was all my fault after all." He said and both of them blushed at the nickname Naruto gave Hinata. 'Hina-chan…. I like it'both of them thought smiling and blushing even more than they already were.

"_**Kit, you're so desperate!" Kyuubi laughed.**_

"_Oh, shut it foxy" Naruto said angrily._

"_**Here's where you're wrong Kit. I'm the fox and you are the foxy!" Kyuubi laughed again.**_

"_Yeeah… whatever."_

"_**When are you going to tell her Kit?" Kyuubi asked seriously.**_

"_I'm not going to tell her."_

"_**But why?"**_

"_Why do you care so much? You always hated me, why do you care if I tell the woman I think day and night, the only woman that ever made me feel this way, the only woman that would ever make me happy, the… the…"_

"_**Yes?"**_

"…_the only woman I will ever love so much in my life, how I feel about her…" _

"_**First of all, I never hated you Kit. I always admired you for your strength and determination. After all, I'm living inside you and no matter what you may think I don't want to see you like that. You are… hurting. You can't go on like this… loving her from a distance…"**_

"_Now you are acting like Sasuke-teme. Both of you say the same, you know." Naruto said and chuckled._

"_**Well, that Uchicha brat may be a pain in the ass but he does speak correctly. At least ask her out Kit."**_

"_Hinata doesn't deserve a demon kid like me. She deserves much better. After all she wouldn't ever feel the same way I do…"_

"_**If only you knew Kit..." Kyuubi mumbled under his breath.**_

"_What was that?"_

"**I was saying… what about her confession during the Pain attack to the village? You know, when you were stubbed to the ground, with Pain in all his glory rumbling about all kind of shitty stuff when your**Hina-chan **came to your rescue and she made this epic monologue with the **because I love you **thingy in the end, then she fought Pain and hestubbed her to the ground and you thought he had killed her and then you turned into six-tails mode and BLAH BLAH BLAH…. You get the point Kit." **

"_Yeah but she could always mean that she loves me as a friend, and even if she meant that she loved __loved __me, that was almost two years ago and her feelings have probably changed by now…"_

"_**Do whatever you think is better Kit but if I were you I would ask her out. You could at least try. After all you have nothing to loose…."**_

"_I… I will think of that…"_

"_**Bye Kit… I'm gonna take my beauty sleep now… See ya later…"**_

"_Kyuubi…"_

"_**Yep?"**_

"_Thanks…"_

"_**Ha hahaha, oh Kit love has really started having an effect on you…. You're softening…." Kyuubi said as he started laughing as hard as ever.**_

"_Oh fuck off…"_

Shaking his head, Naruto smirked at Kyuubi's actions. He would always speak up in the most inconvenient of times and start a conversation with him. 'You truly care for me Kyuubi, don't you?_' _Naruto thought and smiled. He would always consider Kyuubi an enemy but he proved to be a good comrade and maybe a friend in a strange way.

-"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked bringing Naruto out of his thoughts.

-"Hmm?" Naruto asked raising his deep blue eyes to look at her.

-"Why were you in such a rush before? You know, when you came running in here and we pumped into each other…"

-"Oh that." Naruto said and laughed a bit embarrassed. "Well… Actually I was heading with the others towards the Hokage Tower when I remembered that I had forgotten the scrolls Obaa-chan asked for, back at my apartment. I went and retrieved them but I saw that I was late for the meeting with Obaa-chan and I started running back here. That's when ehh… I… I pumped into you… Sorry about that…" Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

-"Don't worry about it Naruto-kun. As for being late, Neji nii-san will most probably be the last one to arrive after all, not you or me." Hinata said with a giggle.

-"Neji? Late?" Naruto asked and Hinata nodded her head helping Naruto pick up the last of the scrolls. "How so?"

-"Well… we were walking here together but on our way here we met Ibiki-san and he wanted to talk with Neji alone. So… I continued on my own."

-"Wait… you mean Ibiki? Morino Ibiki? What would he want with Neji so early in the morning?"

-"I don't know but I… I think it might have something to do with what Tsunade-sama wants to tell us…" Hinata replied while standing up on her feet again and holding some of the scrolls with Naruto doing the same.

"Yeah maybe…" Naruto replied in thought. "Well I think we will soon find out don't you think? But I guess we should attend the meeting as soon as possible or else I cannot guarantee that Obaa-chan will let me live another day." He said with a laugh, earning a small giggle from Hinata.

-"Hai, let's go Naruto-kun."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o00o0o0o

Tsunade was pacing impatiently in her office. She had told everyone to gather to her office at **7:00o'clock**for a meeting, but as always only the half of the people she asked for, were present. _'_Caml down Tsunade. It is not as if this is a meeting about how Konohagakure and maybe the whole Land of Fire may be in danger because of some unknown missing ninjas with incredible power who already killed five of your shinobi and even the Kazekage himself found it difficult to fight against them.' Tsunade sarcastically thought, feeling her temper to rise.

-"**SASUKE!**" Tsunade yelled causing everyone in the office to close their ears. "Were the HELL is Naruto? Weren't you supposed to bring him here ON TIME?" she yelled again.

-"Tsc… I'm not his babysitter alright!" He replied in a monotonous voice. "I guess he'll be here by the end of the meeting…maybe." He continued only to be elbowed in the stomach by Sakura. "Hey what was that for?" he asked irritated, a feeling that was replaced with fear as soon as he saw the dangerous glint in Sakura's eyes, meaning that next time it would be more than just an elbow.

-"Way to calm her down Sasuke." Sakura replied, narrowing her eyes.

-"Troublesome" Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

-"Well… I knew we shouldn't have let him go back to his apartment alone." Kiba said.

-"Yeah… that dobe most probably fell back asleep searching for the scrolls in that mess he calls house." Sasuke said and shrugged only to be elbowed in the stomach by Sakura again.

-"I warned you." Sakura said as soon as she saw him ready to protest.

-"Jeez, can't you all be a bit optimistic? Naruto is most probably on his way." Ino said.

-"I agree. Don't worry Tsunade-sama." Choji said, putting his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders.

-"And what about Hinata and Neji? Those two are never late." Tsunade said. '… but chose to be late the worst day of all the others….' She thought concerned. '… a new enemy… neither Konoha nor Suna will be able to deal with a new enemy at the moment… we just came out of a big war and we are definitely not ready to take part into another one now…' She nervously thought.

-"Hinata and Neji will soon be here Tsunade-sama. As you said they are never late and they reason they are today, is probably because either that old man, Hiashi, or that little brat, Hanabi, delayed them but I guarantee that they will be here at any moment now." Kiba said and Tsunade nodded her head.

A knock from the door made everyone sight in relief. 'Finally'They all thought.

-"Come in " Tsunade said and the door hesitantly opened to reveal an always late Naruto and an embarrassed to be late Hinata.

-"Hey Granny-**" **Naruto greeted or maybe tried to greet Tsunade as he was cut of by a huge flying book that came to hit him on the head. "**OUCH**, THAT HURT GRANNY." Naruto yelled in pain as he scratched the back of his head.

-"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG UZUMAKI?" Tsunade yelled at his face. "Good morning Hinata!" Tsunade said calmly when she saw the terrified girl next to Naruto.

"You still haven't answered me Uzumaki…WHERE-HAVE-YOU-**BEEN?**" Tsunade yelled again making the whole building to stir and everyone to cover their ears.

-"Hehe, you see granny I had forgotten the scrolls you asked for, back at my house so I went to take them." Naruto replied nervously.

-" Were are those scrolls may I ask?" Tsunade asked, eyeing Naruto and making him to sweat drop.

-"I-I left them at Shizune's office before coming here with Hinata-chan." Naruto said and gulped.

-"Oh, I see but don't think this is the end of this conversation Naruto!" Tsunade said in a dangerous voice.

-"Hehe…" Naruto said nervously, averting his eyes to look anywhere but Tsunade, only for a read head to catch his eye, "GAARA" Naruto said loudly as he walked to the Kazekage's side and punched him in the arm in a greeting way. "Long time no see my friend." Naruto said with a smile.

-"Naruto…as energetic as always I see" Gaara replied with an almost invisible smile.

-"And as idiotic as ever, right Naruto?" Kankuro said with a playful smirk.

-"I would say the same about you too Kankuro!" Naruto replied giving Kankuro a 'You-know-you'll-loose-this-argument' look and a smirk. "Nice make-up by the way! Is it new… _Kanky?"_ Naruto said playfully, using the nickname Kankuro hated the most.

-'It is NO MAKE-UP YOU FOOL…it is bunraku paint." Kankuro said irritated. Naruto always knew how to drive him mad and win in one of their oral arguments. "AND DON'T CALL ME KANKY." He said causing everyone in the room to burst into laughs.

-"Stop it _Kanky._ You started it anyways." Temari said with a playful smirk as she dragged her brother from the ear.

-"Come on Temari. It wouldn't be that hard to take your brother's side for once you know!" Kankuro pouted like a five year old and faking tears.

-"Ahem, sorry to interrupt that beautiful scene but we have some work to do here you know.' Tsunade said averting her eyes to now look at Hinata. "Hinata where's Neji/" She asked.

-"We met with Ibiki-san on our way here and he wanted to talk with Neji in private, Tsunade-sama." Hinata said and Tsunade nodded her head in understatement.

-"I see. I guess we can start with our meeting then since Ibiki will tell Neji everything he needs to know." She said and continued. "You may all wonder why I called you all here today and with the Kazekage and his siblings present as well, am I correct?" She asked and everyone nodded their heads. With a little hesitation and after she cleared her throat, Tsunade finally said. "We have serious problems that consider both Konoha and Suna. New enemies… new enemies and very dangerous at that, appeared."

-"How dangerous?" Naruto asked seriously.

-"They may be the cause of a new war, that dangerous." Tsunade replied only to have numerous pairs of eyes look back at her in horror,

-"Nani?" All of them asked in unison. Sure they would still have to deal with a lot of criminals even after the war but none of them was as powerful as to cause a new war. They had thought that after Mandara and Obito died they wouldn't have to face such a threat again, but as it seemed, they were wrong.

-"We are talking about powerful S-ranked criminals, excelling shinobi and most probably missing ninjas, who killed five of our shinobi two days ago. Two of them were Anbus and three of them jonins." She said earning gasps from everyone in the room.

-"Of how many ninjas are we talking about?" Sasuke was the one to ask this time.

-"Four but I'm afraid they are more. We faced them when we came across them on our way here. He fought them outside the forest of death were they killed your ninjas. The three of them got away but we managed to catch one of them. That specific one is now interrogated by Morino Ib iki himself." Gaara said.

-"Do… do we know who the victims were?" Hinata sadly asked.

-"No…not yet. Their corpses were altered because of the many hits they earned but I'm sure that we'll know who they are by the end of the week." Tsunade replied.

-"Do we know who is behind all this or what the purpose of the attack was?" Naruto asked.

-"We have no idea who their leader is but I think that we'll soon find out. As for the purpose of their attack, we suppose they did it as a threat or to make their presence known. To let us know that we'll soon have more coming from them." Thunade replied.

-"And what are we supposed to do now?" Naruto asked again.

-"Just have your eyes and ears open for anything strange or suspicious and most importantly don't let anything of what you heard today slip out of this room. We don't want the citizens to worry over it. Not yet at least." Tsunade replied.

-"Hai Tsunade-sama!" Everyone said in unison.

-"Dismissed." She said and everyone left the room.

-"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked.

-"What is it Shizune?" Tsunade asked as she turned her head to look out of the window.

-"What are we going to do?" She asked concerned, holding Tonton in her arms.

-"I don't know. I really don't, but those children are our last hope. Those sixteen are a miracle Shizune. Each and every one of them has gone through a lot in his/her life. Ever since they were small kids, they have faced some of the worst criminals our world has ever seen. Hell, they even fought in the most cruel and tough war of all the rest but managed to come out of it alive and winners. There is no doubt that those sixteen are maybe some of the best ninjas to have ever lived and they are now the only ones able to face and stop whatever is coming. "Tsunade said as she stared at the early morning sun and the people that woke up for another day of their lives. It was one peaceful day and as it seemed, it would be one the last days of peace in the Land Of Fire 'cause war was near once again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

-"I don't understand." Neji said pacing in front of Ibiki. "You told me that there are new enemies that threaten to start a new war and stuff but what I don't understand is why you wanted to talk with me in private when Tsunade would say the excact same to everyone."

-"As I already told you, the Kazekage and his siblings who fought with the criminals, actually achieved to catch one of them while the others ran away." Ibiki explained to Neji. "This man's name is Daichi as he told us during the interrogation. He is not much of a ninja. To tell you the truth, he is useless as a fighter but great as a healer. From what we found out, he is a poison expert and when I say expert I mean that he makes poisons not even Tsunade-sama can cure."

-"What? How could you know that not even Hokage-sama can cure them? From what you've already told me, he is twenty-two years old or something, pretty young to be that good with poisons." Neji said confused.

-"True but that was what some medical results depicted about the poisons we found in his coat. He is not the only poison expert in their 'organisation' though. From what he said, there is a girl the same age with him that shares the same abilities in poisons. Moreover, we found out that he used to live in Iwakagure until his parents were killed during an invasion and he chose to become a missing nin. We have already sent a message to Iwakagure for more information about him." Ibiki said.

-"What about his team mates or the other members of their 'organisation',as you so called said. Do we know how many of them are there, where they come from or what kind of powers do they obtain?" Neji asked.

-"No, nothing of that yet. That kid, Daichi, may be a true cowered but he is not as much of a fool as to let out more about his team mates 'cause he knows that if he does, we won't be those to kill him but them." Ibiki said with a smirk. "But what I just told you Neji is information I have not told Thunade yet as I was planning on doing so after I talked with you."

-"Why's that? Why would you tell an Anbu before the Hokage?" Neji asked and Ibiki sighted.

-"I'm afraid that the whole situation might have something to do with the Hyuga Clan as well." Ibiki finally said.

-"You can't be serious. We would never betray our own village!"

-"That's not exactly what I meant. Daichi mentioned something about a man that would usually visit their camp or base. He talked about a distinguished byakugan user that had a big influence in their organisation and would most of the time talk in private with their leader. What I'm saying is that this man could always be someone within the Hyuga compound and that you should be careful that that someone doesn't attempt anything against Hiashi or Hinata." Ibiki said as he so Neji's eyes widening.

With a quick motion Neji turned around and started walking to the opposite direction.

"Neji! Where are you going?" Ibiki asked.

-"I want to see that Daichi, I want to talk to him and see if I can find out anything on my own. I'm already irritated that they are most probably trying to attach our village but when you mentioned that my family is in danger, I cannot act as if I never heard of it. Hinata has been through a lot and I won't let anything more happen to her. She is my blood, my sister and I'm not letting any psychotic guy hurt my family." Neji said feeling his temper to rise.

-"Hyuga Neji! Come back here this instant!" Ibiki said strictly earning no action from Neji. " I SAID COME HERE." He yelled and Neji stopped in his tracks. Taking some

steps towards him, Ibiki stopped in front of Neji and said.

-"This does not concern only your family Neji. The whole Land of fire is in danger and we should do everything to prevent a new war from happening. Don't make rush decisions that you'll later regret. As for Daichi, he will be under my supervision, do not worry." Ibiki said and Neji hesitantly nodded his head in approval.

"Now go to your friends. You don't want to worry them now do you?" Ibiki said.

-"OK. Goodbye Morino-san." Neji said, bowed in front of Ibiki in respect and disappeared. Ibiki shook his head. "This is going to be a long year." He said and walked towards the Hokage Tower to inform Tsunade about the result of the interrogation. Neither him nor Neji though knew that one of Naruto's clones that had covered its chacra, was listening to their conversation all along.

With a 'puff' the clone disappeared and Naruto smiled sadly to himself. 'Not exactly what I wanted to hear. I had hoped that maybe Obaa-chan was overreacting but as it seems, the situation is worse than what she described to us.'He thought and turned his head to the right to see the angelic indigo woman that had stolen his heart, walking by his side. All sixteen of them where actually heading towards their favourite tea house to have some breakfast. They were chatting and laughing while walking, trying to forget their stressful meeting with the Hokage but in true they all wore worried faces even though they tried to mask them with all the laughs and chatting.

-"Hey forehead, you won't believe what I bought yesterday. Only three words for you.

GOR-GE-OUS !" Ino yelled enthusiastically.

-"Not as GORGEOUS as the shoes I bought five days ago, Ino-pig-chan!" Sakura teased her.

-"SHIKAMARU! HANDS OFF MY SISTER NOW!" Kankuro yelled when he saw Shikamaru having his arm around Temari's waist.

-"We can always kill him if he doesn't." Gaara said apathetically.

-"GET A LIFE YOU TWO!" Temari yelled back at them.

-"Troublesome" Shikamaru muttered under his breath.

-"Oh,the spring-time of youth! I'm sooooooooooo happy." Lee said with tears of happiness.

-"Oh God." Tenten said, hiding her face behind her hands in embarrassment.

Naruto started laughing at his friends' attitudes and Sasuke's, Choji's and Neji's freaked faces. Yeah, those crazy people were his friends and he loved them, they were the reason he would risk everything in order to protect them.

A giggle from his right side made him turn his head and look at Hinata once more. 'you…', he thought and his eyes softened. ' are the reason I became Konoha's hero, you are the one I want to protect more than anyone else'.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hiashi was sitting in his office. He was concerned. ' I hope Tsunade doesn't have any bad news for them.'He thought. In truth, Hiashi had heard some rumours that a group of dangerous ninjas was spreading the death everywhere they went. 'I hope those remain rumours.'

A knock on the door of his office, brought him out of his thoughts.

-"Come in." Hiashi said and the door opened revealing no other than Ko Hyuga, one of the branch members and former bodyguard of his eldest daughter, Hinata.

-"I'm sorry to bother you Hiashi-sama but this letter just came for you." Ko said, bowing and handing the letter to Hiashi.

-"Thank you Ko. You can go now." Hiashi said and Ko left the room.

Opening the envelop and taking out the letter, Hiashi started reading it.

His eyes grew wider and wider with each word he read and when finished, he laid the letter on his desk and stood up from his chair to look out of the window.

-"I knew this time would eventually come sooner or later. I knew that sooner or later she would return…." Hiashi said to himself.


	3. Chapter 3: The Newcomers

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OTHER PRODUCTS IN THIS FANFICTION. I **ONLY OWN THE STORYLINE!**

**Here is a rewritten and revised version of a Naruto fanfic I wrote a few years back. Enjoy!**

**p.s. Excuse me fore any stupid errors please!**

**-FairyLullaby**

**Chapter 3: The Newcomers**

"Ohh, Hitomi-sama I'm so excited! I can't believe that I'm actually going to meet those people you've been talking about for so many years now!" An eighteen year old girl said excitedly.

"Yeah, I know Mai. I'm very excited as well but still, I don't think they'll react very well at my arrival there. At least not all of them." The old woman said in a weak voice. She was indeed very old, around seventy-eight years and anyone could distinguish all the hardships and pain she must have gone through in her life. She was short, with medium length white hair held up in a delicate yet simple bun. Her face had wrinkles making her age even more evident. There were also some small bags under her expressive deep purple eyes.

Mai smiled sadly to herself. She had known Hitomi ever since she herself was a small child. She was from a small village somewhere in the Land of Rice. It was not a hidden village or anything though. In truth, people there despised ninjas.

She was living there with her parents until Kumokagure attacked and destroyed the village during the war.

That unfaithful night, Mai didn't just loose her home but something much more precious as well. That night, she lost her parents.

_**Flash Back**_

"_Run Mai!" A woman with long brown hair and dark brown eyes yelled._

"_But Mum…" The small ten year old girl tried to reason. Their village was under attack and she was frightened. _

_All she could hear was yelling, loud explosions and women mourning over their children or husbands. Houses were on fire and people were dropping dead all around them._

_Another explosion was heard nearer to them, making both females jump._

"_MAI I TOLD YOU TO RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!" Her mother shouted again. She had to get her daughter out of this. She had to protect her, the best way she could._

"_NO! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU AND DAD!" Mai screamed above her lungs. Her warm tears were rolling roughly down her cheeks and she had her teeth gritted, showing her mother that she wasn't playing._

"_Mai please…. You have to get out of here…. Please do it for me and your dad…" The woman said, kneeling in front of her daughter. "P-please run… get out of here. You're my daughter, my child, my blood and I'll give my life to protect you…" She said, hugging her daughter tightly. "I love you Mai… Both I and your father do. We love you very much."_

"_But mum…I don't want to leave you here… You have to come with me… You and dad… please, I can't do this without you…" Mai said between sobs._

"_MAI…." A man screamed while running towards the two females. "Mai why are you still here?" the man said, bending down to the girl's level._

"_Dad I…"_

"_Mai get out of here. Run as fast as you can and don't stop until you've lost the village from sight ok?" Her father said._

"_But …_

"_No buts Mai… Go and will come to you soon after, I promise…" The man said and kissed her temple. "Now run, you don't have much time…"_

"_Ok…" The girl hugged her parents. "But you'll come and find me soon right? You promised…" She said as more tears run down her cheeks._

"_Promise…" Both adults said in unison, bitter smiles gracing their lips._

"_Now go…." Her father said, giving his daughter a light push on her back to make her start running. "Go.." he commanded_

_Seeing their daughter run away, made them feel both relieved and sad. _

"_Goodbye Mai…. Be careful…" The man muttered under his breath._

"_She will… You'll see…" His wife said, giving his hand a light squeeze._

"_I know… our daughter is strong… she is a ninja after all…" Her husband said sadly. "What saddens me though, is that we want be there to see her grow up and become a beautiful woman and a talented ninja…"_

"_I know, but at least she will be safe…" She said and looked at her husband's eyes. "We may die tonight but we will die knowing that our daughter is alive. We may not be able to see her grow up and become a beautiful young woman and a great nin but we will know that she will even if we may not be there." She said with tears and kissed her husband, maybe for the last time before both of them went to help protect the village._

_0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0_

_Mai was running as fast as she could. Her feet were hurting and her breath was coming out in gasps. She could no longer hear the screaming, the desperate cries or the sound of blades crushing against human flesh, just some big explosions from time to time. _

'_Mum and dad will come for me… they will…they promised…' she thought as she came to a halt, falling on her knees._

_- "THEY WILL…." She screamed as loud as she could, pumping her feasts to the ground as a waterfall of tears came out of her eyes. An unbearable pain hit her, making her fall to the ground. Looking down she saw the deep wound she had obtained in her arm while trying to get away from one of the enemy ninjas. She hadn't felt any pain while running, maybe because she didn't think of it but now the pain was just too much. Blood was continually rushing out of the wound making her feel even weaker than before. She had to find something to stop the blood or else she would die from blood loss if not from infection. _

_She had to do something but she couldn't. Her body had gone numb and her eyes started closing. _

_She no longer felt the pain. All she could feel were the cold raindrops hitting her face. She no longer heard the explosions. All she could hear was her heartbeat growing weaker and weaker. She no longer saw the tall trees of the forest she was at. All she could see was a blurred figure running towards her and muttering some words she couldn't quite catch._

"_They will come… for me…they… promised…." She managed to say before her eyes closed._

_**Flash Back End**_

Mai smiled sadly to herself. That night eight years ago, Hitomi was the one to find her half dead in the woods. She healed her wounds and took care of her until she was able to stand up on her feet again. She helped her look for her parents only to find out that they had died that night and then raised her like her own child.

She trained her and helped her become a shinobi and a great healer.

She owned Hitomi her life and she would never forget whatever she did for her. Hitomi was like a second mother and father to her. A mother and a father she lost very young.

Mai raised her head to look up at the blue sky. 'Thank you mum, dad…. Thank you because even if you left all those years ago, you sent me an angel to take care of me… Thank you…' she thought and smiled bitterly to herself.

"Mai, my child….don't think of the past 'cause it will only hold you behind. You are very young and you have your whole life waiting for you. We all fall at one point or another but we should always remember to stand up on our feet again and walk forward." Hitomi said and smile towards the young woman next to her. Mai was indeed as her parents had said she would be like when she grew up. She was beautiful. She had shoulder length light brown hair and hazel eyes. She was a bit tall and she wore the typical medic uniform from the land of Steel were both she and Hitomi lived.

"You are right Hitomi-sama." Mai said and nodded towards Hitomi in appreciation. Hitomi was a wise woman that went through a lot in her life. Her husband had died in battle when Hitomi was still very young and pregnant with her second child, her daughter. Many years later she lost both her son and daughter in battle as well. This woman next to her has been through a lot of pain to say the least, but she never gave up. She never turned her head down and admitted to have lost. She never let fate beat her 'cause she still had something to fight for. She had….

"Mai *cough* do you *cough* have *cough cough* my m-medicine." Hitomi said as she started coughing hard and fell to her knees.

"Hitomi-sama!" Mai said with an agonizing tone. Benting down to the old woman's level, Mai started searching vigorously in her medic bag for Hitomi's medicine. 'Where is it Where is it….? Oh my god…. I can't find it…..I can't fin-' "I FOUND IT!" She yelled excitedly and gave Hitomi to drink the white liquid from the small glass bottle.

"Do you feel any better Hitomi-sama?" She asked anxiously.

"Yes, I'm better now thank you Mai, but seriously now, you don't have to worry so much…" The old woman said with a weak laugh.

"How can I not worry? You are ill Hitomi-sama and you keep refusing to see a doctor. This medicine helps you from time to time but that's all it does. Moreover, this journey has tired you way too much. I'm worried about you…I-"

"Mai… I know but believe when I say that I have my reasons for what I'm doing. This journey truly tired me but I don't regret it one bit. Today, after so many years I will finally see them again…" Hitomi replied weakly and coughed yet again.

"Hitomi-sama…"

"I'm fine, I'm fine but now please help me stand up again. We are not too far now…."

"Hai Hitomi-sama…" Mai said and helped the old woman up.

"Now Mai, do you see those huge gate doors at the far end of the road, surrounded by all those tall trees?" She asked and pointed to what she was referring to.

"Yes Hitomi-sama. I can see them."

"Well, there my child, behind those gate doors is Konohagakure…. The village hidden in the Leaves and our destination…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Oh Kami-sama, I'm late!" Hinata said to hershelf while running down the stairs in a hurry. "I'm late, I'm late…" she said, getting to the bottom of the stairs only to be greeted by a very energetic Hanabi.

"Good morning nee-chan"

-"Good morning imouto!" Hinata replied with a smile as she quickly passed Hanabi and headed towards the kitchen.

"Oi, nee-chan! Where are you going? I need your help with something…" Hanabi whined while running after her sister.

"Sorry Hanabi but I don't think I've got much time for this right now. As odd as it may seem, I overslept and I'm late for Konoha 13's meeting at team seven's old training grounds." Hinata explained as she took a green apple from the kitchen counter and started eating.

"Huh? You overslept? Why didn't Neji nii-san wake you up?"

"He was called late last night for a mission and he was supposed to arrive this morning just on time for the meeting." Hinata said and started walking out of the kitchen.

"Ok ok I see, but I really need your help nee-chan! It's a matter of LIFE AND DEATH" Hanabi said dramatically.

"Ok, I'm listening. What is so important imouto?" Hinata said with a light giggle.

"I need ideas on what kind of prank to make on Konohamaru." Hanabi said with an evil smile and took out a notebook and a pen.

"Oh leave the poor boy alone Hanabi." Hinata said and sighted in exasperation.

"Hell no! Not after what he did!"

"What did he do this time?"

"I was training with my teammates, Keigo and Michio, when Konohamaru came out of nowhere and started throwing cake to us! CAKE! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?"

"Well, you did the same at his birthday party! It took me, Kurenai and Ino, half a day to clean up the mess you left behind!" Hinata said and pointed to Hanabi in accusation.

"It is not the same!" Hanabi pouted again.

"Yeah sure! Ok, I don't have much time so let's get over with this. You wanted to make a prank on him right?" Hinata asked and Hanabi nodded her head eagerly.

"Yeah, I want to do something unique! Something he will never forget! Maybe something that will give him nightmares for a couple of weeks?" Hanabi said and Hinata shook her head. 'That really can't be my sister' Hinata thought.

"What about exploding tags?" Hinata asked suggestively.

"Are you serious? These are tricks I did in kindergarten! Can't you be a bit more creative?" Hanabi said. 'That REALLY CAN'T BE MY SISTER!' She thought and sighted.

"What about a clone of Konohamaru running around Konoha naked? That would be a prank you would do." Hinata sarcastically said and pointed to Hanabi.

"I've already done it!" Hanabi said proudly with her head held height.

"You can't be serious…." Hinata said in embarrassment.

"Ok, have a look at this. This is a list of all the pranks I've put on Konohamaru so far!" Hanabi said proudly as she took out a scroll and unrolled it. Hinata, took the scroll from Hanabi and started reading out loud, with a shocked expression all over her face.

"Replaced real kunais with fake ones before a D-rank mission?" Hinata asked, eyeing Hanabi.

"You should have seen his face when he realized they were fake during the mission! Priceless!" Hanabi said with a laugh. Hinata only shook her head at her sister's actions and continued reading.

"…place pins on his seat?" Hinata asked shocked. 'Poor boy' she thought.

"Actually that was one of my best ones. Ever since that prank, he always looks before he sits!" Hanabi said and laughed even harder.

"…transform into Naruto and make Konohamaru do all shorts of chores?" Hinata asked. "For God's sake Hanabi! What have you done to this boy?"

"Well I have to inform you that this is actually my top 1 prank. I had him running around Konoha for chores all day! He even washed the dishes!" Hanabi said proudly yet again.

"I wonder what he did when he found out that you were behind all the pranks each time…" Hinata said and handed the scroll back to Hanabi, not wanting to read the rest of what her sister did.

"It depends actually. He may put a prank on me as well for payback or chase after me throughout Konoha in order to kill me!" Hanabi said with a smirk.

"If I didn't know better, I would assume that you like him imouto…" Hinata said teasingly and let out a light giggle when she saw her sister's shocked expression and this 'please-kill-me-NOW' look on her face. 'She really likes him' Hinata thought and smiled to herself. "I got to go imouto! See you later!" Hinata said, kissed her sister's forehead and quickly ran towards the front door.

"WAIT! WHAT ABOUT THE PRANK?" Hanabi yelled and ran after her sister.

"I don't know right now Hanabi and I really need to go. As for the prank, don't you think you've tortured him enough already? God, the only think you haven't done yet is to paint him pink!" Hinata said and sighted as she finished putting on her black shinobi sandals. "Bye!" She said sweetly as she stepped out and closed the door behind her, missing the evil smirk that started forming on Hanabi's face.

"Paint him pink huh? Why didn't I think of it before?" She thought out loud and tapped her chin in thought before yelling. "OTOU-SAN! DO WE HAVE ANY PINK PAINT IN STORAGE?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Come on boss!" Konohamaru whined while watching Naruto zip up his vest and put on his shinobi sandals.

"No" Naruto said teasingly and laughed under his breath.

"Oh please! You're the king of prank boss! Can't you give me a great, fantastic, AWESOME idea for a prank to put on Hanabi?" Konohamaru said while waving his arms in a dramatic way.

"No I won't! It's ok to make a prank or two to your friends but don't you think you've overdone it a bit? Hell, there must be around a hundred pranks on that list you gave me before!" Naruto said and laughed again. Konohamaru was always so much like himself. 'Was I truly like that at his age?' Naruto thought.

"There are **ninetyeight**pranks…" Konohamaru corrected him. "…and I **donot** think I've overdone it at all! She deserves it anyways…"

"Oh… and why is that?" Naruto asked with a playful smile.

"Well…."

"Well what?"

"It is fun teasing her alright!" Konohamaru snapped. "I like it when she snaps at me…it is…interesting…. She is interesting…" Konohamaru admitted with a light blush staining his cheeks.

"You like her kiddo, don't you?" Naruto asked teasingly and saw as Konohamaru's face turned bright red.

"N-no I d-don't nii-san!" Konohamaru protested. "And what if I did? She would never like me anyways. The last time we met she was chasing after me with four kunais in each hand and trying to kill me…" Konohamaru said and shrugged.

"She was trying to kill you because you had put a 'kick me' sign on her back!" Naruto said and pointed to Konohamaru in accusation.

"I did not!" Konohamaru protested again and stared intently into Naruto's eyes.

"Yes you did!" Naruto replied, staring back at Konohamaru.

"NO I DID NOT!"

"YES YOU DID!"

"NO…!"

"YES…!" Naruto replied, growls escaping from both males' throats as the staring contest went on and on.

"Ok I did! Will you now give me an idea to put another prank on her?" Konohamaru pouted.

"To be honest I really can't think of something right now…" Naruto said and shrugged as both he and Konohamaru stepped out of the apartment.

"You're lying boss! You always have an idea…" Konohamaru said as he saw Naruto locking the apartment.

"Seriously now Konohamaru, how can I give you an idea when you've done any prank someone can think of?" Naruto asked with a laugh.

"There must be something I can do!" Konohamaru whined again.

"Konohamaru you are thirteen! Act your age, dettebayo…. " Naruto said bored and started walking away from the apartment and towards the training grounds.

"Matte!" Konohamaru yelled and run after Naruto. "What about the prank?"

"You don't give up easily do you?" Naruto said with another laugh. "Look, I'm really late and Sakura will most probably be waiting with a katana in each hand, ready to kill me if I don't show up any time now. As for Hanabi, why don't you go paint her blue? That's the only thing you haven't done so far…" Naruto said jokingly and laughed again.

"Thanx Boss!" Konohamaru yelled enthusiastically and sprinted away, leaving a very confused Naruto behind.

"What's he thanking me for?" Naruto asked himself in wonder.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Hinata was quickly walking through the hyuga compound and heading towards the main gates. Something or maybe someone, made her stop though.

"Hinata-sama." A heavy, serious and strict voice called her from afar. She knew that voice very well and that made a small, painful shiver run down her spine. She had grown up to fear and hate that man for some strange reason.

"Hideo-san, what a nice surprise." Hinata said in a serious voice as soon as she turned around to greet the older man. "Can I help you with something?" She asked with the same serious and even cold voice she didn't know she could ever have.

"Actually no. There is nothing I need your help for, Hinata-sama." Hideo answered. His eyes were looking intently at her, with hatred and apathy perfectly covered under his stoic face. "I'm here to inform you of the hyuga meeting that'll be carried out tomorrow evening and as usual we need you at present. "

"I understand." Hinata said and nodded her head. "Could I please know what the meeting is being carried out for?"

"It will question who the next leader of the hyuga clan will be." Hideo said with a smirk as he saw Hinata's eyes widening and her face obtain a shocked expression.

"Nani?" She asked in a low shocked voice with words barely leaving her throat. What did Hideo mean by this? Wasn't Hinata already chosen and accepted as the heir?

"Apparently not everyone accepts you as our next leader, Hinata-sama." Hideo replied, his evil smirk widening. "Tomorrow we will choose who'll become our next leader and from what I know, many of us are planning on voting against you with me being one of them." He said but it was Hinata's turn to smirk this time.

"Don't tell me things I already know Hideo-san. It is not new to either me or my father, how much you despise my person so don't expect me to seem surprised with that. As for the upcoming meeting, I'll accept with equal joy whatever the decision will be." Hinata said with newfound confidence as she saw Hideo's temper to rise. "If you now excuse me, I've an important meeting to attend." She said as she turned around and left the compound, leaving a very irritated Hideo behind.

"Gakuto!" Hideo yelled irritated.

"I'm at your services Hideo –sama" Gakuto said breathlessly as soon as he reached his master. Gakuto was a 27 year old man who belonged to the branch house of the hyuga clan, making him a 'caged bird' and a servant of Hideo, one of the members of the hyuga council and a man of great power and prestige . Gakuto was tall and brunette as most of the clan's members and had the well known featureless white eyes of the hyuga clan. He was a quite man and always followed his master's orders.

"Find Akio-sama and tell him we need to talk...Immediately."

"Hai Hideo-sama!" Gakuto said, bowed and run to find the Hyuga Elder while a very suspicious Hiashi was watching the scene from his office's window, the whole time.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Don't worry about him that much." A very old and weak voice said with a chuckle.

"How can I not worry about him father? You know how much I despise that man and to top it all I fear for children's lives." Hiashi said, turning his head from the window in order to look at his father once again.

"I don't think that he would ever hurt either Hinata or Hanabi 'cause he knows that if he did hurt them, he would later pay for it." Akio said. Making himself more comfortable at the chair he was sitting at. "I know that he is a very heartless and arrogant person but that doesn't necessary make him a killer. To tell you the truth, I don't like him at all as well but I've learnt to tolerate with him all those years and so should you. Whether we like it or not he is a very powerful man and belongs to the hyuga council. I don't say that I put Hideo over my grandchildren's safety but we should accept him whether we like it or not. We can always have an eye on him though, just to be safe." He said in determination and Hiashi nodded his head in agreement. "Oh, and don't worry about the meeting tomorrow evening. I'm sure that everything will be alright." He said and gave his son a weak smile.

Before another word could be said though, a light knock was heard from the door, alerting the two men.

"Come in.' Hiashi said and the door hesitantly opened to reveal non other than Gakuto.

"I'm sorry to inderupt you Hiashi-sama, but Hideo-sama asked me to call Akio-sama. He said he wanted to talk to you in private." Gakuto said still bowed.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Akio said with another weak laugh as he stood from his chair and headed towards the door. "Think well of what we talked about Hiashi." He told his son before closing the door behind him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Everyone was gathered at team 7's old training grounds. Ino, Sakura, Tenten and Temari were sitting under the shade of an old oak tree and chatting. Naruto and Sasuke were having one of their usual contests with Gaara and Kankuro being the coordinators while Lee was rumbling to Neji about the 'springtime of youth'. Kiba and Shino were having an argument about who the actual leader of their team was while Choji was eating a huge bag of chips, Shikamaru was taking a nap and Sai was watching Naruto and Sasuke's contest in awe. Everyone was there except from…

"Hey where's Hinata? It's not like her to be late…" Ino said.

"Yeah, even Naruto arrived on time for the FIRST time in his life!" Sakura said surprised.

"She most probably had to talk with her father or something, before coming here. That would explain why she is late." Tenten said.

"Or she just overslept. I don't think we should worry that much." Temari said but her happy facial expression turned into a worried one as soon as she shifted her eyes to look towards the entrance of the training grounds. "I take the last thing back. We SHOULD worry." She said and everyone turned to see Hinata entering the training grounds with her head bowed and her eyes shifted to the ground. She seemed to be troubled about something but none of the girls could actually place what that was.

Hinata was walking towards her friends with small and hesitant steps. It was a miracle she had arrived at the training grounds when all she was thinking was her conversation with Hideo and didn't pay any attention to her surroundings. 'He must be planning something for the meeting tomorrow.' She thought and sighted as she sat to the ground next to Ino. 'Well, whatever it is it can't be any good.'

"Hinata! Oi, Hinata! Are you listening to me?" Ino said in a pretty height voice, making Hinata jerk up and turn to look at her friends. All the girls were looking at her in strange way, as if she had grown a second head.

"Are you guys ok? You seem a little bit strange today…" Hinata said and put her right hand on Ino's forehead. "You don't seem to have a fever Ino-"

"Are you kidding me? We are not the ones acting weird, you are!" Ino yelled in frustration, making Hinata blush a bit.

"What do you mean?" She asked in utter confusion.

"I mean that you came in here and looked like a wandering ghost!" Ino replied making Hinata blush even more.

"She's right!" Sakura said and the rest nodded their heads in agreement.

"Now, split it out…" Tenten said and Temari continued.

"…what happened?"

"Ehh… nothing much really… I just didn't have a nice sleep, that's all!" Hinata lied, waving her hands in front of her face to reassure them that everything was ok. Even if it wasn't. 'No reason to worry them now. Hideo will always be Hideo after all.' She thought and let out an ever so small sight.

"Ok, if that's all…" Ino said not 100% sure of Hinata's words but decided to relax. 'If Hinata was bothered with something, she would tell us about it. No reason to push her over it.' Ino thought. Sakura and Temari seemed more relaxed with the situation while Tenten was looking at her best friend suspiciously. She and Hinata were truly close and she could easily understand when her best friend was lying. 'What are hiding Hinata?' Tenten thought and let out a small sight. She was worried to say the least but decided not to take that issue any further now. She would speak with Hinata in private, later anyways.

"Oh maaaan, I can't believe it's been a week since our meeting with Tsunade-sama already. By the way, when is she planning on telling us who the five shinobi that died were? My cousin went on a mission two and a half weeks ago and he is yet to return. My father is very nervous to say the least. He can't even sleep properly at nights." Ino said in an attempt to change the subject.

"Well, I think that she'll be able to tell us in a matter of two or three days. She is very nervous as well, you know. She is afraid that those lost ninjas that she told us about, might be a worse threat than we think." Sakura said and all the girls nodded their heads in understanding.

"Personally, I don't think that those ninjas that we're supposed to fear, are anything much. I'm sure that we'll be able to win them in just a blink of the eye, when the time comes." Tenten said determined and Temari shook her head.

"This is not a game Tenten. I and my brothers faced some of them and they most probably were some of their weakest and most inexperienced ninjas, consuming from their lack of strategy during battle. That doesn't mean they're not very strong though. We found it pretty difficult to fight the four of them and yet they still managed to run away. Gaara earned several scratches and some very small wounds on his chest while Kankuro got a deep wound on his right arm and left leg. This matter is serious and these people are dangerous." Temari said and looked at Tenten's impassive face.

"That means nothing. Gaara and Kankuro most probably were just unlucky that day. We all managed to go through the worst war the shinobi world has ever faced. We fought Orochimaru, Mandara, the Akatsuki and If you haven't realised already, we won. Those so called 'powerful lost ninjas' that suddenly showed up from nowhere can't be worse than what we've already fought. I think that you've all overestimated them a bit, don't you think?" Tenten replied a bit angry. She wasn't angry with Temari though and Temari knew that. Tenten just couldn't accept the fact that some freaking bastards decided to play with their lives again.

"Unlucky you say. Ibiki Morino investigated one of the four that we fought one and a half week ago. The one we caught confessed that he and his team were the youngest and newest members in their organisation, not to mention that they were still in the first levels of their training. Yet they managed to kill five of your village's shinobi, two height-level anbus and three well trained jonins. They also managed to hurt a powerful kazekage and make Kankuro unable to fight for a couple of weeks, and you still believe that they're nothing much to face?" Temari asked with a serious tone in her voice while Tenten looked at her a bit shocked but didn't speak. She knew that if what Temari said was true then they all were into some very deep shit.

"Do you remember anything about their powers, Temari?" Hinata asked.

"Not much. All I remember is that two of those we fought were sound ninjas while the other two were from Cloud." Temari said with a disappointed look as she got up and started observing her fan. They had to train sooner or later anyway. That's why they where at the training grounds after all.

Hinata and the other three girls just nodded. They didn't want to take that conversation any further 'cause neither of them wanted to think about those stuff right now. All they wanted to do was train and have a fun time with their friends. As for the whole 'new war' issue, they could always discuss and worry about it another day.

Taking their kunais, katanas and fans, in Temari's case, they all stood up, getting ready for their training.

"Ok Girls! Let's TRAIN!" Ino yelled enthusiastically and Hinata giggled.

"Let's go kick some ass!" Sakura and Tenten yelled in unison and cracked their knuckles with a playful smirk. Poor boys….

"Let's do our best." Hinata said with a smile and Temari nodded her head in agreement.

Before they could take another step though, a big explosion was heard from some meters away and everybody turned to see an enormous black cloud of smoke and small flames here and there.

"Do you wanna bet who did this?" Kiba said teasingly.

"Sasuke you bastard! Don't think this is the end of our competition!" Naruto shouted as he coughed and stood up.

"I can win you with my hands tied behind my back dobe!" Sasuke replied with a growl as he stood up and looked in Naruto's eyes angrily.

"I wanna see you try teme!" Naruto shouted back while waving his fist in front of Sasuke's face, both of them too caught up with their argument to hear their friends' laughs or see Sakura's temper to rise.

"Naruto! Sasuke! **YOUBAKAS**!" Sakura screamed above her lungs and both Sasuke's and Naruto's faces paled.

"Hehe…. Come on Sakura-chan…. Can't we discuss about this?" Naruto said, waving his hands in front of his face as he and Sasuke started taking hesitant yet quick steps backwards.

"Yeah, Baka is right. Can't we discuss about this? We were just fooling around…" Sasuke said as cold sweat run down his face and neck and a nervous smile fromed on his lips. Who knew that the Konoha 13 would live the day to see Sasuke fear Sakura…

"Fooling around? FOOLING AROUND? IT SEEMED MORE LIKE TRYING TO KILL EACH OTHER TO ME!" Sakura yelled at them again while walking towards them, her hands forming in fists and a vein pumping from her forehead.

"It's Teme's fault not mine! He started it!" Naruto screamed as both he and Sasuke saw Sakura coming towards in total rage. "Eheheh you know how much I'd like to stay and talk about this Sakura but ummmm…" Naruto said and gulped as he scratched the back of his head nervously 'I'm in so deep shit right now…' Naruto thought and gulped again.

"But what Naruto?" Sakura said in a threatening tone and cracked her knuckles.

"Ummm, I…. I…. you see I….."

"Yeeeees?" Sakura asked impatiently. Looking around for any kind of help, Naruto saw the only person among his friends he wanted to see right now.

"I promised Hinata-chan to take her somewhere today!" Naruto said happily and with a wide grin as he quickly run past Sakura and towards Hinata. He got a gentle hold of her hand and started running towards the exit of the training grounds, missing the boys' weird looks, the girls' wide smiles, Neji's fuming face and Hinata's shocked expression.

"Naruto! Where are you taking my cousin you fool?" Neji shouted after Naruto in rage, turning on his overprotective cousin mode system.

"Oh let them be Neji… they look lovely together!" Tenten said and gave her boyfriend a quick soft kiss on the lips, calming him down a bit.

"Well I didn't expect it to turn out that well!" Sakura said with a wide smile.

"You bet!" Ino said with a light laugh and gave high five with Sakura as Tenten and Temari laughed along.

"What-do-you-mean?" Neji, Kiba, Sasuke and Kankuro asked in unison, all of them dumbstruck, while the rest of the boys were way too comfused of what just happened to even speak.

"They mean that it was all part of a plan to get Naruto and Hinata together." Shikamaru said coolly and everyone's jaw dropped.

"That's my clever boyfriend!" Temari said with a laugh and kissed Shikamaru on the cheek which earned a small blush from Shikamaru.

"Wait wait wait…. You mean that all this about Sasuke and Naruto's argument and then Sakura ready to take their heads, was all part of a plan to let Naruto and my cousin have some alone time together?" Neji asked a bit annoyed.

"Yes!" The girls said in unison and nodded their heads.

"And you think that all this will help them get closer?" Neji asked again.

"Yes"

"God help us" Neji sighed and shook his head. This better work or else…

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She felt her heart beating faster and faster with each passing moment. It was not an odd feeling for her though. She always felt like this for the past ten years, whenever he was around but there would always be some of their friends with them as well. Now there was nobody but them, walking silently, side by side, through the noisy and full of life streets of Konoha. Cherry red blushes were staining their faces as both restrained from looking at one another, their eyes continually finding something more 'interesting' to look at.

'Why am I feeling like this? It's not like I've never been alone with Naruto-kun before….' Hinata thought nervously when realisation hit her. 'Wait! It's the first time I've been alone with Naruto-kun!' She thought and hid her hands behind her back in order not to let Naruto see that they were trembling like crazy.

Naruto on the other hand was not at a better position either. 'Why did I do this? Why did I suddenly grab her hand and started running? Why…why? I had promised myself that I wouldn't do this. That I would stay as far from her as possible. She deserves much better than me. But why can't I do it? Why can't I stay away from her? Why can't I keep my heart from beating like crazy when she's around?' Naruto thought and his hands in his pockets balled into tight fists. 'Why?' Turning his head slightly, his eyes looked at her walking by his side and his heart started beating even faster, so fast and loud that he was afraid she would hear it. 'Why can't I stop loving you?'

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto called for her soflty and her head jerked up in surprise, her beautiful eyes meeting his.

"Yes?" Hinata said nervously.

"Ummm…. Sorry for grabbing your hand like that and start running." Naruto replied, his blush spreading.

"Don't worry about it!" Hinata said with a gentle smile that made his heart skip a beat.

"Ano… do you feel any hungry?" Naruto asked awkwardly.

"Umm, a little bit. You see, I didn't have time to eat breakfast today." Hinata replied with a blush. "Why are you asking?" She continued with a soft smile.

"Ohhh, I was thinking of taking you somewhere to eat together. You know, for making it up for putting you into trouble before at the training grounds." Naruto said with a shy smile as he stopped in his tracks with Hinata doing the same.

"Ohh, no, no, you don't have to do this Naruto-kun, I-" Hinata started saying quickly, feeling guilty for making Naruto feel like he did something wrong.

"I want to." Naruto said and they both smiled, not seeing their faces being only some inches away.

"HINATA NEE-CHAN! NARUTO NII-SAN!" A small boy shouted excitendly while running towards the two teens and surprising them both.

"KOUTA! COME BACK HERE! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO RUNNING AROUND LIKE THAT?" The boy's angry mother shouted while running after him.

Bending down, Hinata scooped the little three year old up in her arms and hugged him tightly.

"Kou-kun! I missed you so much!" Hinata said happily and gave the little boy a small kiss on the cheek.

"I missed you too Hinata-nee!" The small boy said with equal excitement. He hadn't seen his favourite nee-chan for three weeks!

Hinata took some time to observe the little one. Messy dark brown hair, sun kissed skin, blood red coloured eyes. He was the same, yet Hinata thought he seemed different in some way. She hadn't seen the little boy in three weeks and she had dearly missed him. She had gone on a two week long mission and had returned the day before their meeting with Tsunade. Then the week that passed since the meeting, she didn't have enough time to visit him but she was planning to today or the day after. She hadn't seen him for only three weeks but she still thought he seemed to have grown up a bit. It was ridiculous she knew but she would always think the same after she returned from a long lasting mission.

"KOUTA-" The angry mother started to say as soon as she reached them but was soon cut off by Hinata.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata said excitendly and hugged the older woman. Yeah, I know what you're thinking and you're right. This three year old boy in Hinata's arms is Kouta Sarutobi, son of Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi.

The 'King' everyone in Konoha 13 swore to protect.

Everyone loved this boy. He was hyperactive and always cheerful. He would never loose his smile except the time he would ask about his father and then would sleep with tears running down his cheeks. It was hard for Kurenai to grow her little one but everyone helped her out. Seeing Kouta grow up made everyone wish Asuma was there with them to see his son as well. He would be proud, they knew.

Looking back in time, Hinata could clearly remember everything, from the day Kurenai buried her husband to the day she gave birth to Kouta. She could remember all those hours they all spent outside their sensei's hospital room until they heard baby cries from inside. She could remember the first time she held Kouta in her arms and then the day Kurenai told her and Shikamaru that she wanted them to be Kouta's godparents. She could remember the day he started walking, the day he said his first word. 'Dad' he had said and Hinata among with Ino were trying to comfort Kurenai for the rest of the night. She could remember Kouta's first birthday when he put his small hands in the cake and started eating thus making everyone laugh. She could remember the first time he asked to know about his father and Shikamaru told about the great fighter he was and how he was brave enough to give his life for his village and his son. She could remember all the childish arguments he would have with Ino or Kiba for not wanting to eat his meal or take a bath., the eating competitions he would have with Choji, the shougi games he would play with Shikamaru and how Shikamaru would always let him win, the tales she would read to lull him to sleep or the Kouta's tries to make Shino speak a bit more. Hinata smiled. She could remember her sensei's happiness when she first held her son and how much she loved him. For Kurenai, Kouta is her world, her reason to live and even though it would sometimes be hard for her since Asuma was not around, she would still try.

'If it wasn't for Kouta, I would have died the day Asuma did.' This was what Kurenai had told her after they had put Kouta to sleep. They were drinking some tea and discussing when Kurenai said this. Those worlds would come in Hinata's mind from time to time. Sometimes life would be unfair to the purest people like it was with Kurenai.

"Ohh, Hinata. When did you come back from your mission?" Kurenai said once she broke their hug.

"A week ago. I'm sorry I didn't come to visit sooner but some things turned up." Hinata replied with a smile and Kurenai smiled back at her student.

"Don't worry about it!" Kurenai said happily. "So… where were you two heading to?" Kurenai asked with a playful smirk as she turned to look at Naruto. 'Hahah, this kid finally did it!' Kurenai thought and chuckled.

"Yeah Naruto-nii… where were you and Hinata-nee going?" Kouta asked.

"Ano… we were going to eat something." Hinata said nervously and Naruto nodded his head.

"Ohhh… ok." Kurenai said with a teasing smile as she sent suspicious looks at them both.

"Can I come with you Hinata-nee?" Kouta sais and started bouncing in Hinata's arms excitendly.

"Sorry kiddo but only I and Hinata are going! Maybe you can come with us another time." Naruto said with a grin and ruffled Kouta's hair.

"Why?" Kouta said with a cute pout.

"Naruto is right Kouta. You can go with them another time." Kurenai said and smiled to her son.

"Ok." Kouta said with another pout as he gave Hinata a quick kiss on the cheek, got out of her arms, took his mother's hand and started walking away. "Bye nee-chan! Bye nii-san!" he waved as he continued walking away with his mother when he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at Naruto and shout. " OH, NARUTO NII-SAN I WOULD ALMOST FORGET! DON'T DO ANY KISSY KISSY STUFF WITH HINATA NEE LIKE CHOJI NII AND INO NEE DO 'CAUSE IF YOU DO I'LL TELL NEJI NII AND KIBA NII!" Kouta shouted, took his mother's hand yet again and started running towards their house, missing the red blushes that started spreading on both Naruto and Hinata's faces.

"Umm, hahah…." Naruto laughed nervously and gulped. "So, Hinata-chan, were do you wanna go and eat?" He asked nervously trying to change the subject.

"Ano… Ichiraku's Ramen would be just fine." Hinata replied with equal nervousness.

"Ichiraku's Ramen it is then." Naruto smiled to her, took a gentle hold of her hand and started walking.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Opening the door of Ichiraku Ramen Bar, Hinata stepped in with Naruto following right after.

"Hey, old man! I'm her-" Naruto started shouting excitedly but the scne he saw in front of him didn't let him finish. There at the far end of the bar was sitting a man laughing and chatting with the owner's daughter Ayame. They were both looking at one another lovingly and where they flirting? Well, Naruto wasn't 100% percent sure about that but he was sure who the man was. He was none other than…

"IRUKA-SENSEI? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked in shock. Since when did Iruka like Ayame?

"Naruto?...and Hinata?" Iruka said and his face paled. So that's what people call ' I caught you on the act, huh? "I… I came to eat of course." Iruka said with a nervous laugh. "What are you two doing here?"

"Same…" Naruto said, eyeing his old sensei suspiciously and an akward silence followed.

"Ummm, I gotta go back at the academy and check some test the genin wrote. See you two again later…" Iruka said as he quickly laid some money for his ramen on the counter. "Bye Ayame." He greeted her with a sweet smile and left the ramen bar.

"Well that was weird!" Naruto commented as he and Hinata took their seats and ordered their food when a very angry Hokage's voice was heard trough out Konoha making both Hinata and Naruto gasp.

"HANABI! KONOHAMARU! WHY IS THE WHOLE HOKAGE TOWER INCLUDING YOU TWO, PAINTED PINK AND BLUE FROM UPSIDE DOWN?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Walking through the gardens of the Hyuga compound and towards her house, Hinata smiled to herself. It must have been almost half past ten in the night now and she was until five minutes ago with Naruto. After their meal at Ichiraku's , they walked through Konoha's market, visited the Academy where memories of their childhood came back to them and they generally spent the whole day together.

He had walked her back home and when they arrived she gave him a quick goodnight kiss on the cheek before rushing through the compound's gate doors. She still wondered how she found the courage to actually give him that goodnight kiss on the cheek.

'Best day ever!' She thought with a wide smile as she took out her keys, unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"Father, Hanabi, I'm home." She called out gently, her smile never leaving her lips.

As soon as he heard his daughter's voice, Hiashi hurriedly walked out of the living room and towards the front door.

"Hinata-" Hiashi tried to say but Hinata cut him off.

"Father I'm sorry I was late but I-"

"Don't worry Hinata. I'm not mad at all I just want to tell you that there's someone who wants to see you." Hiashi said with worry ghosting his eyes. 'I'm sorry you'll have to go through this now' he thought still lokking at his eldest child.

"Who-"

"Hinata." A weak female voice said and an old woman with white hair held up in an elegant bun and deep purple eyes that made you feel as if they could see right through your soul.

"You…" Hinata said in a low voice as her smile left her lips and her face paled. This was the last person she wanted to see right now.

Tears gathered in her eyes but she didn't have time to let them run down her soft pink cheeks as the door suddenly opened to reveal a very serious Neji.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Neji gasped. He hadn't seen that woman standing next to Hiashi for more than ten years. He was pretty shocked to say the least but he quickly shook his head and spoke.

"Hinata-sama, Hokage-sama wants us at her office right away. She knows the dead shinobis' identity!"


	4. Chapter 4: The funeral

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OTHER PRODUCTS IN THIS FANFICTION. I **ONLY OWN THE STORYLINE!**

**Here is a rewritten and revised version of a Naruto fanfic I wrote a few years back. Enjoy!**

**p.s. Excuse me fore any stupid errors please!**

**-FairyLullaby**

**Chapter 4: The funeral**

Cold raindrops started hitting the ground as heavy black clouds covered the dark grey sky. It would always be like this. It would always rain in funerals.

It was as if the skies were crying, mourning for those that died. It helped though. It helped Hinata cover her tears and blame it to the rain. Hyugas were not allowed to cry. They weren't even allowed to cry the day a part of their family was being buried. They weren't even allowed to cry if their child, brother, sister, wife or husband died. Her father was a clear example of that rule. He didn't even shed a tear at his wife's funeral. He wasn't allowed to.

She was the exception though. She would always cry in funerals but she would make sure no one could see her.

It is very hard you know. It is very hard to talk with someone the one day and the other day to be told that this someone is dead. It is even harder when that someone belongs to your family.

**Flash Back**

They were running as fast as they could through the dark corridors of the Hokage Tower. They had to know who the shinobi that died were. They had to know.

Turning another corner they saw light coming out of half open door at the far end of the dark corridor and the faster they run, the faster their hearts were beating. They both didn't quite remember the last time they felt like this. They felt confused. On the one hand they were anxious to know who the five Konoha shinobi that died were while on the other hand they wished they would never get to know.

Stopping in front of the half open door, they hesitated to go inside. Turning their heads to look at one another, featureless white eyes met featureless light lavender ones and they realized that they were both thinking the same. What if they knew someone from those shinobi and what if that someone was family or friend? What if…

Opening the door they slowly stepped inside.

- "Hinata! Neji!" Tenten exclaimed breathlessly as soon as she saw them and hugged them both tightly. Breaking the hug Tenten raised her head to look at them with worry ghosting her eyes. She then looked at Hinata with a look that could be easily translated as 'I'm sorry'. This definitely wasn't a good sign.

Looking around the room, Hinata realized they were all there with their eyes cast to the ground and sad expressions all over their faces.

A restrained sob from her left, made Hinata turn her head to see where it came from. What she saw made her freeze though.

- "Ino…" Hinata said softly under her breath and run towards her friend. "Ino?" She said as she knelt in front of her sobbing friend and took her face into her hands. How many times she would call her name, Hinata didn't get a response from Ino. Instead she heard her sob as she kept crying and crying. Shifting her eyes to look at the two people sitting next to Ino and trying to comfort her, Hinata didn't get a response from them too. All Sakura and Choji did was shake their heads instead. "Ino! What happened? Tell me… please tell me…" Raising her head to look at her friend, another sob left her lips and more tears run down her light green eyes.

- "D-do you r-remember w-when…" Taking a shaky breath, Ino continued. "D-do y-you r-remember when I-I t-told you at the training grounds about my cousin who went on a mission some weeks back and how m-my father w-was worried because he was yet t-to… t-to return?" Ino asked in a trembling voice and Hinata nodded her head. Taking another deep shaky breath Ino finally said. "He's dead! My cousin is dead!" She said and burst into tears yet again. Her whole body was shaking like crazy and Hinata stood up in shock as Chozi took Ino in his arms, trying to calm her down.

Turning to look at her Hokage, Hinata said.

"Is that true?" She asked and Tsunade nodded her head.

"Yes, it is true. Yamanaka Eito was one of the five shinobi that died. He was one of the group's three jonins. He received many wounds and burns all over his body. All five of them did thus we couldn't recognize their identity right away. Eito died mainly from severe injuries on his head." Tsunade said and Hinata nodded her head once more, a sad expression all over her face.

"What… what about the others?" Hinata managed to say and Tsunade sighted.

"Then was Sitaru Jiro. He was one of the team's two anbus. He died from heavy blood loss." Tsunade said as cold sweat started running down her face.

"We knew him…" A male voice said from her right. Turning her head she saw none other than Naruto looking deeply into her eyes. He was some meters away from her among with Kiba, Sasuke and Shikamaru, but she could still distinguish the sadness in his eyes. "We knew him…" He said again and sniffed in an attempt to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. "All four of us did…" He continued. "Me, Sasuke, Kiba Shikamaru… he had saved our lives once… He had saved our lives when we were sure to die. "

"When did that happen?" Hinata asked softly.

"We were eight years old or something and he was around seventeen at that time. We had left the academy during Iruka sensei's lesson and we had gone out of Konoha's gates in order to live a short 'adventure'. We were fooling around until some ninjas attacked. Needless to say that he saved our butts back then. He was returning from a mission when he spotted us and came to our rescue. The funny thing of the whole story is that we had promised to save him as well if he ever needed it. I guess we didn't keep that promise…" Naruto said and Hinata nodded her head in understanding.

"Did he have a family?" She asked.

"He wasn't married or had kids. His only relative was his mother." Sasuke said.

"He had an older brother as well you know." Shikamaru said. "His brother died during the war. Their mother was at a very bad state. She still hasn't gotten over it. Hell, who would have? Who would ever be able to get through his child's death? Jiro was taking care of her. She was blind you know and she was relying on Jiro way too much. I don't blame her though. He was the last person left to her." He said sadly and then continued. "She'll die when she finds out that her other child is dead. She won't be able to bear it." He said and a tear rolled down Hinata's cheek.

"Who were the others?" She managed to ask although she already felt as if she knew what was coming next. Ever since she woke up this morning she had been having a bad feeling. A feeling she hadn't had for a very long time. It was much like when…

Tsunade didn't answer. She was hesitating.

"The other three were…" She couldn't say it. How could she? How could she say to the young girl in front of her that… Taking a deep breath she finally spoke. "The other three… they were…" Looking into Hinata's eyes she continued. "…Hyugas."

"What?" Neji asked in utter shock. His eyes had widened and his mouth was gabbed open. Everyone could hear the rushed breaths he was taking in and letting out. "Who were they? I want names!" He demanded. 'My family…'

"One of them was Hyuga Kaito, the second anbu of the team." Tsunade said.

"Ko's older brother…" Neji mumbled under his breath but everybody heard him. "My cousin…" Taking a deep shaky breath he raised his head with determination and looked the Hokage in the eye. He was ready to face whatever was coming. The sadness, the mourning… everything. Something in his heart broke though. He had experienced many deaths in the past with his father's being the most painful, yet he never got 'used' to it like most Hyugas would do. Hyugas would always mask their feelings. They would always seem cool even if they were screaming in the inside and he wasn't an exception of that rule. He had been hiding his sadness and rage for his father's death for many years. That was until the first Chuunin exams of course, when the whole truth came to the surface. Even after that though, he was still expected to act like every other Hyuga male. Like a statue. Something made of nothing, something with no feelings…. Someone that all he would care about would be the good of the clan. It was funny though because that 'good of the clan' would always be what would kill them at the end. Many had died for the clan with his father being among them. He wouldn't mind to die for his family though. He wouldn't mind to hear that one of them died for their family. He wouldn't mind because they would die for the 'family' and not for the 'clan'.

"The other two were Hyuga Aiko and Hyuga Genji, the two of the three jonins of the team. From what I know they were planning on getting married right after this mission." Tsunade said in a soft sad tone. "I'm sorry."

Neji just looked at her, pain evident in his eyes as a single tear rolled down his cheek but he quickly whipped it away. He looked around him meeting all of his friends' eyes. They could understand him, he knew. They could clearly understand what he was going through right now.

He then turned to look at the only person he hadn't dared to face for the past five to ten minutes. At his right, an angel was crying silently with her hands balled into fists at her sides. At his right, Hinata was crying. His cousin, his little sister, his blood, the one he had sworn to protect with his life… the one that saved him. Hinata was always like the little sister he never had as his parents died very young and seeing her in that state now, it made his heart fell even more.

"Under what conditions did our cousins die?" He finally asked. Tsunade just stared at him.

"Kaito, Aiko and Genji received greatly strong hits in their hearts and lungs. All three of them died on the spot." She said.

"What are you playing at Hokage-sama?" Neji asked shocked. "You can't be seriously telling us that expert Byakugan users just dropped dead like that!"

"I know and that's why we investigated this matter farther. We found some scratches on their arms and legs that were obtained during the fight, mainly caused by kunais. We also took samples of their blood and found a very rare poison in all of them. Examining the poison we found out that it is actually minimizing people's reflexes and powers meaning that your cousins wouldn't only be slow in battle but also unable to use their Byakugan. In conclusion-" Tsunade said but Neji cut her off.

"-the kunais of the enemies were purposely poisoned." He said with his eyes growing wide. His hands started trembling a bit until he felt Tenten's hand in his thus calming down.

"Bingo! There's something more though. Your cousins were the only ones to receive this poison in their blood meaning that Eito and Jiro didn't. " The Hokage said.

"It could always be a coincidence!" Neji rushed to answer, pretty aware of where this conversation was heading to. He had had a similar talk with Ibiki just three weeks ago and he didn't like the outcome of their conversation. Tsunade just shook her head.

"I really doubt that. They would never be that fully prepared if their purpose wasn't to specifically harm the Hyugas." She said.

"What do you mean Obaa-chan?" Naruto asked seriously.

We believe that the attack was in order to threaten the Hyuga clan and thus they killed three of its members." She replied.

"And what about Eito and Jiro? They weren't Hyugas. Why would they kill them if they didn't even care about them?" Sasuke asked.

"They probably were in their way." Gaara simply answered and Temari nodded her head in agreement while Kankuro just shook his head in confusion.

"I still don't get it." Kankuro said. "How exactly would Eito and Jiro be in their way? They could always just go there, poison and then kill the Hyugas if they truly were their target. They wouldn't need to kill the other two as well."

"Yeah but you forget that they all belonged in the same team." Kiba said and Shino briefly nodded his head.

"That means that they would help one another in case one of them was attacked. Shinobis are brought up like that meaning that when Aiko, Genji and Kaito where attacked, Eito and Jiro hurried to their rescue ending up severely injured and then dead." Shino explained.

"No, no, no! That can't be true! What would those people want from the Hyuga clan? It's ridiculous! That can't be happening! What would those bastards fucking want from my family? What?" Neji shouted angrily, loosing his temper for the first time in many years while Tenten and Lee tried to restrain him.

"There are many things that they could be asking for Neji." Tsunade said calmly. "Power, wealth…" She started saying. "Revenge?"

"But-" Neji tried to say something but the person he didn't expect to talk right now, cut him off.

"Enough!" Hinata said angrily as she raised her head to look at Neji. Tears were endlessly running down her eyes and her hands started trembling a bit. Neji and everyone else looked at her shocked. Hinata wasn't one to burst out like that. She had never done it before. "Enough…" She said again in a soft tone. "They're dead! They're all dead. Eito, Jiro, Kaito, Aiko, Genji… they are dead! Do you think that if you sit here and talk about it will bring any of them back? Do you think that you're going to find those that killed them by just standing here and arguing? You're just standing here wondering how they were killed and why. Do you think that if you knew then the pain would go away?" She said through her tears, her eyes never leaving her cousin's. "Why don't you start wondering how will Ino's father react when he'll find out that his nephew is dead or how will Jiro's mother get through the loss of her child? Why don't you start wondering how will you tell Ko that his brother is dead or how am I supposed to look Aiko's father in the eye and tell him that his daughter and son in-law died some days before their wedding?" She said in a trembling voice as she tried to whip away her tears. She looked at her friends one by one and saw that many of them were crying as well. Her eyes stayed on Naruto a tad more. She just wanted to run in his arms and cry for the rest of the night. But how could that happen?

She looked at her cousin once more and then turned to leave. 'How am I supposed to tell them?' She thought and her soft pink cheeks were covered with tears again.

"Hinata-" Neji tried to say but Hinata soon cut him off.

"Aiko was pregnant." She suddenly said not even turning to look at him. Everybody gasped, including Tsunade. If she had known she would have never let Aiko attend the mission and maybe she would have saved two lives.

"What?" Neji asked shocked.

"She was pregnant. Three months along actually. She had found out a few days before the mission and I was the only one to know. I insisted that she didn't attend the mission in her condition but she wouldn't listen. " Hinata said as a small sob left her lips. "The irony is that she was planning on telling Genji after the mission. I wonder, did she even have the chance to? Did she ever have the chance to tell the person she loved the most that they were going to be parents?" She said and hurried out of the room.

"Hinata wait…!" Naruto shouted and run after her. 'Wait Hinata… please…' he thought while running through the dark corridors of the Hokage Tower. Seeing her like that during the meeting, made his heart ache. He just wanted to go and hold her in his arms till she felt a bit better but hoe could he? He always told himself that he had to stay as far from her as possible, suppress his feelings… 'cause she deserved much better than him. Even if he tried though, he didn't seem to be able to do that. He would always steal glances at her when she didn't know. He would always smile with her smiles… blush with her blushes. And he knew that how hard he might try, he would never stop loving her simply because he would never be able to.

He turned another corner and suddenly stopped.

Hinata was sitting on the floor, her back and head resting on the wall behind her. The moonlight loomed over her, making the crystal tears on her cheeks evident. Naruto slowly walked towards her and bent down in front of her as soon as he reached her. He hesitantly raised his right hand and lightly blushed away the tears on her soft skin. Her eyes met his at once. Eyes full of pain…

She hesitantly moved a bit forward and Naruto gently wrapped his arms around her. And no word was spoken as the silence spoke their deepest feelings and they tried to comfort one another, heal each other's heart from the loss of their friends and family.

**Flash Back End**

Hinata closed her eyes in an attempt to block all the images of the funeral but she couldn't quiet forget what was going on right now. She slowly opened her eyes once more and looked around. The ceremony had ended but everyone was still there. Mourning…

She turned her head to her right. Every single Hyuga was there, one standing next to the other. Their face looked as if made of stone and their expressions as cold as ice. No tears, not even a sign of sadness. The more she looked at them the angrier she was getting. This was the funeral of her cousins damn it!

Her anger went away though. There was no point being upset. They would never change anyways. They would always be like that.

She then turned to look at her left were Neji was standing a few meters away with his head bent low as Lee was patting his back and telling him something that could be easily translated as words of comfort. She saw Tenten walking towards her, a small sad smile gracing her lips.

"You ok?" Tenten asked as soon as she reached her.

"I've been better." Hinata replied with a bitter chuckle as she closed her eyes to let a couple of tears run down her cheeks. Tenten just looked at her best friend. She could understand how Hinata felt. Pain, rage… She wanted to comfort her and she did it with the only way she knew. She hugged Hinata.

"I'm so sorry." Tenten said truthfully and Hinata nodded her head.

"How's Ino?" Hinata asked as they broke the hug.

"She's …better than yesterday. Choji, Sakura and Shikamaru are always by her side while she's trying to comfort her father." Tenten took a deep breath and continued. "Eito was the child of Inoichi's younger sister and when she died, Inoichi promised to protect Eito like he would with his own child. Now that Eito is dead he feels like he couldn't keep that promise to his sister." Tenten said Hinata nodded her head in understanding.

"I suppose Naruto and the rest of the guys are with Jiro's mother, right?" Hinata asked and Tenten nodded her head.

"They're trying to help as much as they can." Tenten said softly. "Neji is… very angry you know. We've been trying to calm him down for more than an hour known."

"Let me guess. It's about the way the clan acts, isn't it?" Hinata said with another bitter chuckle and Tenten nodded her head once more. "I don't blame him." Hinata honestly said and Tenten understood Hinata felt the same rage towards the clan members acting this way.

"Pathetic" They heard a rough male Hyuga voice say and Tenten's eyes widened in shock.

"It's called 'being a human', Hideo-san." Hinata said in a serious voice and turned to look at him with hatred evident in her eyes. "You should be ashamed to say that it is pathetic to mourn when your friends or family has died." She said and the Hyuga council members looked at her in shock while her grandpa closed his eyes in satisfaction to see Hideo being told by his eldest grand-daughter.

"Hinata, regain your composure!" Hiashi said in a serious yet strict tone before Hideo could protest to what Hinata had told him.

"If by 'regain your composure' you mean that I should act like a statue like the rest of the clan members, then I'm sorry father but that is something I cannot do." She said in the same serious and determined voice. Hiashi just looked at her. She had never talked to him like that before and in front of the rest clan members at that. "Today is my cousins' funeral and I won't act as if it doesn't bother me like the rest of you do." She said and started walking away from them. "I'm disappointed in you father." She said in a low sad voice but everyone heard her.

Hinata walked through the hundreds of people gathered in the cemetery until she found the person she wanted to talk to. She slowly walked towards him until she was standing next to him.

"It's so unfair." Ko said as soon as he felt her presence. "Why my brother? He didn't ever do anything wrong…" Hinata looked at him. Her cousin.

"Yeah… you're right." She said and turned her head down. Ko was never the kind of person to express his thoughts or feelings out loud but she always managed to communicate with her cousin by just the silence falling between them. If he actually talked about how he felt right now then he would probably scream letting everyone know about his pain for loosing his older brother. Ko and Kaito's parents had died the night the kyuubi attacked the village and Kaito had taken the responsibility of growing his little brother up. Kaito was practically the last very close relative to Ko.

Ko bent on his knees in front of his brother's tomb. He put his hand in his right pocket and slowly took out the almost destroyed headband protector of his brother and gently laid it on the wet from the rain ground.

"How's uncle Usui?" He asked after a minute.

"Not very good. He collapsed right after Aiko's and Genji's burials and Yukimaru took him back to the compound in order to let him rest a bit." Hinata said and turned her eyes to look at her cousin.

"I didn't expect anything less. Today he buried his daughter and son in law." He said and then paused for a moment before he continued. "I was told about Aiko. You shouldn't blame your self for not being able to keep her away from the mission. She would be a real knucklehead at times and you know how she wouldn't listen to anybody." He said and a small bitter laugh left his lips. "She was a great person." He said and Hinata's face seemed to sadden even more.

"She was a very important person to me. After my mum's death she was the one to take care of me, make me laugh. She was like a… a good godmother fairy." She said and smiled at the memories. "My good godmother fairy." She said as a crystal tear stained her cheek. She took a step towards him and laid her hand on his shoulder. He turned his head up to look at her and Hinata gave him a reassuring smile as if saying 'Everything is going to be ok'. He nodded his head and she simply walked away, moving like a shadow through the people in the cemetery and exiting the graveyard.

Naruto was looking at her all this time and his heart ached even more. His deep blue eyes never left her until she exited the cemetery and walked out of sight.

"Hey Naruto. You ok?" Kiba asked and Naruto turned to look at him.

"Yeah I'm alright." He said in a low voice.

"Come on dobe, let's get going. We all need to rest a bit now that we can 'cause there are very tough days to come." Sasuke said and Naruto nodded his head before starting walking away deep in thought. Sasuke and Kiba watched him walk away. 'What's wrong with you dobe?' Sasuke thought.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Hinata slowly walked through the gardens of the Hyuga compound. The sun had started to set and she assumed that by now every single Hyuga would be back from the funeral. Even though she had left the cemetery before them she was the last to return home. She had been roaming the streets of Konoha for hours, thinking. Thinking of Aiko and Kenji, about her uncle Usui and Ko. Then there was a person she didn't want to think about, yet she couldn't help it.

She opened the door and hesitantly walked in, her eyes obtaining a lost feeling in them.

"Nee-chan, you're back!" Hanabi said with a smile as she run towards her sister. Hinata didn't say anything. She just looked at her and offered her a smile. Her eyes gave her away though. "Nee-chan…" Hanabi said in a very soft and low voice. Hinata lightly ruffled her little sister's hair and walked away towards her room. Hanabi just stayed there to look on her retreating back. "Nee-chan…"

Hinata walked towards her room. So many things had come up in only a month. How would they be able to deal with all this? How would she be able to deal with all this?

"Hinata…" A weak female voice said from behind her. Hinata froze. She knew that voice very well. Yet she didn't quiet know whether she wanted to hear that voice. To be honest she never expected to hear that voice or see the person it belongs to, again. She slowly turned around, light lavender eyes meeting deep purple ones.

"What are you doing here?" Hinata asked the old woman standing a few meters in front of her. "Why are you here?"

Hitomi just looked at her, sadness and regret ghosting her features. "Hinata I-"I'm sorry she tried to say but she stopped. She didn't deserve forgiveness.

"You what grandma?" Hinata asked in a low calm voice. "What you want to tell me is that you're sorry? Fine, I forgive you. Now that you heard what you wanted to hear, you can leave again like you did all those years ago." She said and turned around to walk away.

"Wait please-" Hitomi tried to say as Hinata stopped and turned to look at her once more.

"I waited for twelve whole years!" Hinata said with angry tears gathering in her eyes. Hitomi froze. "I've waited enough don't you think?" She didn't say a word. What could she say? Hinata was right. 'Twelve years.' Hitomi thought as she saw Hinata walking away and entering her room. "Twelve years…" she said to herself. "I'm sorry…"

Heavy steady footsteps were heard coming closer to her.

"She doesn't want to hear a thing, does she?" Hiashi said as soon as he came to stand next to her. Hitomi just shook her head still looking at the direction Hinata had left only seconds ago.

"I don't blame her." Hitomi said with a sad smile gracing her lips. "If I was her I wouldn't even look at me." She said as she tried to whip away the tear running down her wrinkled cheek. "I made… many mistakes Hiashi and the worst of them all was to leave Hinata at the most critical period of her life." Hitomi said and sniffed in an attempt to hold back her tears. Hiashi turned his head to look at her.

"If I were Hinata I wouldn't just restrain from looking at you..." Hiashi said in a calm serious voice. "…I would hate you." He honestly said and Hitomi turned to face him with angry tears running from her eyes.

"Do you think I don't know? Do you think that all this was easy for me? Do you think that for the past twelve years I was able to even sleep at nights?" Hitomi said in a low yet angry voice. "I wanted to protect her and you know this better than anyone else Hiashi!"

"Why are you back?" He simply asked.

"I just think it's about time Hinata learnt the truth." Hitomi said and Hiashi's body stiffened. "The whole truth."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto unlocked the door of his apartment and stepped in, closing the door behind him. The sun had long given its place to the moon as the sky obtained a beautiful navy blue color. The rain had stopped a while ago yet there was still a bittersweet aura floating in the air.

Naruto turned on the lights and kicked his shoes off. He raised his head to look around his small apartment. He could sense it. They were there…

"You can come out now guys." Naruto said with a bored tired tone in his voice as he saw Sasuke and Sakura coming out from the bathroom and Sai from behind the curtain. "Seriously now, if you want to rob my house you'd better mask your charka next time." Naruto said with that same bored tired tone in his voice as he sat on his sofa with his head leaning back and his eyes closed. Sai, Sasuke and Sakura walked forward and also sat down, Sasuke on the armchair across from Naruto as Sai and Sakura sat on either of the blonde's sides on the sofa. Silence fell over the room once more. Naruto sighted and opened his eyes as he sat properly on the sofa. "Split it out." He said and Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"What's wrong with you dobe." Sasuke asked.

"What do you mean teme?" Naruto asked him back, his face becoming serious.

"I mean that you are not yourself lately. Ever since Tsunade told us about the new enemies you are always deep in thought, serious and gloomy." Sasuke said in a friendlier tone. Naruto just looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

"You can't be seriously telling me these things now." Naruto said with a sarcastic and a tad angry tone as he stood up from the sofa. "We are talking about a new war here!" Naruto said and paused for a moment before he continued. "You saw what happened the last time. How many families were destroyed and how many innocent died. Last time we were lucky enough to get out of the war alive but what if we are not that lucky this time? Will you be able to mourn for me or Sakura? Will Kurenai be able to mourn the death of Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Choji, Shikamaru or Ino? Will we be able to get through the deaths of our friends or senseis?" Naruto asked.

"But a new war is not sure to happen. It is just a possibility." Sai said and Naruto turned to look at him.

"Today we buried five of our shinobi. Tomorrow it will be ten and the other day fifteen." Naruto said. "A new war is no longer a possibility. It is a fact!" Naruto said and sat back on the coach. He sighted. "I lost many people dear to me and now I just can't risk it to loose anyone else again." He felt a hand lightly touching his arm and turned to see Sakura smiling at him.

"You won't loose us. None of us. None of the Konoha 13." She said giving him a reassuring smile. "As for the war, we will be those to end it and after we do so we will go on with our lives. Live happily ever after right? You will become Hokage, we will have families, children… our happy ending." Sakura said with a light laugh. Naruto looked at her and he knew. Not even she herself believed in what she was saying.

"Yeah… a happy ending…" Naruto mumbled under his breathe.

"A happy ending huh?" Sasuke asked in a bored tone. "WAIT!" He suddenly said with a funny shocked expression all over his face. "Don't tell me that I'll be having dobe over my head for the rest of my life?" He said and they all started laughing. "Ok let's get going Sakura, Sai." Sasuke said standing up with the others doing the same.

"Get some rest Naruto." Sakura said and Naruto nodded. She took Sasuke's hand and headed out of the apartment with Sai following behind. Sai stopped before walking out of the door though.

"It's not only about the war, is it?" Sai said and Naruto froze for a moment but then a sad smile graced his lips as he shook his head. "Is it because of someone you love?" Sai asked and Naruto chuckled.

"Yeah…yeah it is." Naruto said.

"Well I don't know whether you want my advice or not but I'll give it to you and then you get to choose." Sai said." War is not the only thing that can take your precious people away. So you'd better tell this person you love how you feel about her before it's too late." He said and waved to Naruto before leaving the apartment.

"I'll keep that in mind." Naruto said to himself. He turned of the lights and sat on the sofa again, the only light coming from the moon outside. 'Hinata…'

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Hinata closed and locked the door behind her. Her hair was damp and the black kimono she wore at the funeral wet. Her eyes were red from crying and she was very tired. She leaned against the wooden door of her room and closed her eyes. So many things had happened in only one day. 'Why do I have to deal with all this?" She thought. 'What have I done to deserve something like this?'.

She could hear talking from outside but she couldn't quiet make out what it was being said. Then the voices stopped and heavy footsteps coming towards her room was the only thing she heard. 'Why are you back, grandma?' She thought.

Suddenly the noise of the footsteps coming towards her stopped and someone knocked on the door making her eyes open in an instant.

She didn't answer. Then another knock was heard. And then another…

"Hinata…" A male voice said. It wasn't the strict serious voice she was used to hear ever since she was a child. It was a rough voice yet with gentleness in it. "Can we please talk for a minuite?" Hiashi said but Hinata didn't answer. Hiashi sighted from the other side of the door. His daughter was mad with him he knew. Her words kept coming to his mind. 'I'm disappointed in you father' she had said and Hiashi couldn't agree more. He was disappointed with himself as well yet he could do nothing to change that. "You were right in the cemetery." He admitted out loud. "But you know the rules of this clan. The Hyuga clan is a prestigious clan. Any kind of emotion in front of others would make us seem weak. I know you don't agree with this but you're the heir of this clan and you should learn to accept it as the future leader of the Hyugas." He tried to reason. "You know that there is no other way." He said and looked at the door for one last time before walking away. He knew that Hinata was listening to what he was saying, the whole time even if she didn't say anything back.

And indeed she had been listening to everything.

She shook her head to her father's words.

"I'm sorry dad but… I can't change." She said under her breath. Her eyes shifted to look towards the window. The sun had already set she noticed. She watched as the moonlight filled her room making everything look so mysterious and beautiful.

She slowly stood up and walked farther into her room. She walked towards the bookcase and stopped in front of it. She had countless books but those weren't what she was looking for. Fining what she wanted she slowly extended her hand to take it. Taking it into her arms she slowly sat on the floor laying the old photo album in front of her. She opened it and a true smile graced her lips for the first time that same day. Her whole life was in that album. Her first birthday, Hanabi's birth, a photo picturing her, Kiba and Shino, another one with her, Kurenai and Shikamaru and then the photo they took after the end of the war with all the Konoha 13 and the sand siblings smiling. Then Hinata turned at the last page of the album. She carefully took the picture in her hands and saw eyes very similar to her own looking back at her. A crystal tear run down her cheek as her smile turned from happy to sad.

"Maybe if you were here things would have been a lot different… mom." She whispered and her heart ached.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Hanabi didn't sleep that night. She was tossing and turning in her bed trying to let sleep overtake her but nothing happened. So it is understandable to say that she felt relieved when the morning sun graced the sky with its presence that morning.

She was nervously walking towards Hinata's room. She had to talk with her sister about the reason that had held her awake all night.

**Flash Back**

Hanabi was walking towards Hinata's room. She was worried about her sister. Neji had told her that it was only logical for Hinata to be all sad because of the funeral but she was still worried. She had never seen her sister like that before. The pained expression covering her face and that look in her eyes. A look that would be able to make the coldest hearts ache and feel her pain and sorrow.

Turning another corner she heard two voices talking and quickly hid behind a wall, masking her chakra. She was planning to leave and go to Hinata's room a bit later but something one of the two people said caught her attention.

"I wanted to protect her and you know this better than anyone else, Hiashi!" An old familiar female voice shouted angrily and Hanabi's curiosity increased. 'Father?' She thought. 'Protect her? Protect who?'

"Why are you back?" Hiashi said and Hanabi's heart raced.

"I just think it's about time Hinata learnt the truth!" The female voice said and Hanabi's body stiffened. "The whole truth!" She said and then a long pause followed.

Curiosity was eating Hanabi up. With a quick yet quiet motion she took a peek from behind the wall. Her eyes widened. "Grandma?" She whispered to herself. 'What the hell is going on here' she thought in shock before she heard heavy footsteps walking away.

**Flash Back End**

Hanabi slowly opened the door of Hinata's room and saw her sister sound asleep on her bed. She tiptoed towards Hinata and knelt beside her bed. She watched as her sister peacefully slept. Then she watched her face. Her eyes were still a bit red from crying and she seemed so tired. Hanabi didn't want to wake her up yet she couldn't do or else. They needed to seriously discuss.

"Nee-chan…" Hanabi gently called and softly shook her shoulder. "Wake up…" She said and Hinata's eyes slowly opened.

"Hanabi?"

"Yeah it's me. Now get up and get ready 'cause there's something I must talk to you about." Hanabi said and Hinata raised her left eyebrow in confusion. "Come on!"

"Okay okay I'm up!" Hinata said with a soft giggle as she got up from her bed and headed to her bathroom. Hanabi smiled at her sister's small laugh. She seemed to feel better.

Hanabi sighted and sat on the edge of Hinata's bed making herself comfortable. What was she supposed to tell Hinata. She just couldn't find a way to explain to her what she had heard the previous night. Her train of thought stopped at once when her eye caught a strange peace of paper hidden under Hinata's pillow. She looked at it confused before extending her right hand to take it from under the pillow and see what it actually was. Hanabi's eyes softened and a smile of nostalgia appeared on her face.

"I've never seen this picture of mom before." Hanabi said as she raised her head to see Hinata who had just come out of the bathroom. Hinata smiled softly at her little sister.

"Keep it." Hinata said gently as she walked towards Hanabi and sat on the floor in front of her.

"No, I can't do that. This is yours and I-"

"Hanabi look… I am older than you and I have to say that I kind of remember how mom was but you were very young when-"She tried to finish her sentence but stopped. She couldn't say it out loud. She closed her eyes in an attempt to hold back her tears. She would never allow herself to cry in front of Hanabi. She slowly opened her lavender eyes to look into her little sister's white ones. "Just keep the picture ok? Please… I want you to." She said gently and Hanabi nodded her head.

Hinata stood up and sat beside Hanabi.

"So…" Hinata began. "What did you want to talk about?" She asked and Hanabi took a deep breath.

"Last night I heard a conversation." Hanabi said and Hinata shook her head.

"Don't tell me, you eavesdropped Hanabi!"

"I-I no… I mean yes… yes I eavesdropped." Hanabi admitted.

"I can't believe you did that." Hinata said and shook her head once more. "You're not that kind of person Hanabi! What got into you?"

"I know but it wasn't my purpose to do so!" Hanabi protested. "I was coming to see if you were ok when I heard two people talking and I immediately hid behind a wall. I was about to leave but then I found out to whom the voices belonged to." She said and Hinata looked at her curiously.

"So? Who were they?" Hinata asked and Hanabi took another deep breath, gathering all the courage she had.

"Grandma and father." She said at once and Hinata's body stiffened.

"What did you hear?" Hinata asked and Hanabi turned to look at her.

"I didn't hear their whole conversation just a small part of it."

"It's ok. Just tell me what you heard." Hinata said gently.

"I first heard grandma yelling at father about how she had wanted to protect someone and how father knew about that better than anyone else or something. Then father just asked her why she returned and to tell you the truth I was curious about that myself." Hanabi said and Hinata nodded her head.

"What did she answer?" Hinata asked and Hanabi shifted her eyes to the floor. "Hanabi?"

"She said she was back because she thought it is time you learn the _whole truth_ or something." Hanabi finally said and Hinata sighted. What were those two playing at? What were her father and grandma planning? What the hell were they hiding? "Nee-chan?" Hinata heard Hanabi say and turned to look at her. What she saw in her eyes, was something she never wanted to see. Fear… "I'm scared." Hanabi said in pure honesty and Hinata hugged her.

"Don't be." Hinata said in a soft voice.

A soft knock was heard on the door.

-"Come in." Hinata called and the door slowly opened to reveal a rather tired Neji.

"Bet you didn't sleep one bit did you?" Hinata said teasingly and Neji exhaled in frustration.

"I slept for about two hours I think. You?"

"Not more than an hour." Hinata said.

"How dare you two talk? I didn't sleep at all!" Hanabi said in a childish voice and pouted making both Hinata and Neji laugh.

"Then go have some sleep." Hinata said with a smile and Hanabi looked at her as if her sister had gone mad.

"Do you have a fever or something? If I go and sleep now, father will kill me and Yugao-sensei will be mad if I miss my training with Michio and Keigo when the chunnin exams are soon to come." Hanabi said and groaned.

"Don't worry about uncle. He has his mind elsewhere lately and won't even realize it. As for Yugao I'm sure Sai will be more than willing to handle the matter." Neji said and smirked.

"Wait! Does Sai-" Hinata started to say but Neji cut her off.

"-have a crush on Yugao?" Neji finished her sentence. "Pretty much yes." He said coolly and his smirk widened as Hanabi's jaw dropped and Hinata broke out in laughs. "Hey where are you going Hanabi?" Hinata asked with a chuckle as she saw Hanabi heading out of her room.

"I going to get ready for the training." Hanabi said a bit dazed.

"Won't you go get some sleep as you previously said?" Neji asked and Hanabi shook her head, her eyes still wide.

"I don't want to have nightmares with my sensei and Naruto's crazy friend thank you very much!" She said and walked out of the room and leaving a laughing Hinata and Neji behind.

"You seem to be better." Neji said with both of them stop laughing.

"I have to be. For Hanabi. She's far too worried for her age." Hinata said as she stood up from her bed and walked towards her window to look out. There was a long pause and neither of them spoke.

"The Hyuga meeting will be carried out at eight o'clock this evening." Neji finally said and Hinata turned to look at him in an instant, her eyes wide in shock.

"What?" She asked in a low voice.

"That's what I came to tell you before. Hiashi arranged the meeting for tonight." Neji said and Hinata shook her head not wanting to believe what she just heard. It was only yesterday they buried three of their relatives and her father chose to care about his 'business' and leave the funeral aside as if it was nothing important or serious only a day after?

"I can't believe this!" She said both in anger and feeling like crying in frustration.

"Hey, Hinata! Where are you going?" Neji asked as he saw her walking past him, out of her room and towards Hiashi's office. She didn't answer him and just kept walking away. "Damn it!" Neji cursed under his breath and run after her.

"Come in." Hiashi said as soon as he heard a light knock on the door of his office. He already knew who it was. The door slowly opened to reveal a tired Hinata. Hiashi stood up. "I expected you would come and see me. Take a seat." He said and motioned towards a chair in front of his desk as Hinata walked towards the chair and sat down, not saying a word. Hiashi didn't speak but waited for Hinata to begin and she did.

"Why did you arrange the meeting for tonight when the funeral was only yesterday?" Hinata asked him in a rather calm and low voice her eyes not meeting her father's.

"I couldn't do or else. Hideo-san insisted that the meeting is carried out today." He simply said and Hinata felt her blood boil in the reference of Hideo's name.

"Why are you doing everything this man says?" She asked a bit louder than before with irritation apparent in her voice. "You're the leader of this clan not Hideo."

"Hinata please. This is something that does not make only you angry but me either." He said in a serious voice and Hinata stood up from her chair irritated.

"Then why don't you do something to stop all this?" She shouted in anger making Hiashi stand up to face his daughter as well.

"You don't know what this is about!" Hiashi shouted in equal anger as he looked his daughter in the eyes. Eyes gentle yet passionate. Eyes just like her mother's.

**Flash Back**

It was an early warm spring morning at Konohagakure. An eighteen year old boy was walking through the quite streets of the village hidden in the leaves. His long dark brown hair was shining under the touch of the early morning sun and his featureless white eyes were smiling. He loved days like these. Days when he could sneak out of his house and away from his father's orders.

He would always go to a small valley at the outskirts of Konoha and relax. There were times he would train at the valley and times he would just sit down and watch up at the sky. Nevertheless he had never told anybody about this place. Not even Hizashi knew about it. So he had the biggest surprise of his life when that day an angel visited the small valley.

Hiashi slowly walked through the hundreds of azaleas, the colorful asters, the heavenly bluebells and the white bouvardias with the tips of his fingers lightly touching the petals of the flowers and with his glued on the angel. Long dark blue hair, milky white skin…

She was sitting under the large shade of an Ash Tree, surrounded by thousands of purple and white carnations and a beautiful heavenly song was coming out of her lips.

"..I once dreamed of an angel

and he told me that I would break free.

I once dreamed of an angel

but when I talked to him he turned his back to me.

I once dreamed of an angel

but when I tried to touch him he vanished from my dreams.

I once dreamed of an angel

but then I realized it was just a dream.

I now seek for my angel

can you help me break free?..."

Hiashi felt his heart beat faster in the sound of her angelic voice. Then she stopped singing but Hiashi didn't realize. She slowly turned around, her gentle lavender eyes meeting his cold white ones. He was mesmerized with her beauty and could do nothing but stare.

"Hello!" She said in a soft sweet voice as a gentle smile graced her light pink lips and a light blush stained her cheeks. His heart skipped a bit with her smile.

"H-hello" He hesitantly replied. 'Wait! Did I just shutter? Damn it, I never ever ever ever shutter!' He thought and mentally smacked himself.

"What's your name?" The girl asked with the same sweet and soft voice, her smile never leaving her lips. Hiashi blushed.

"My name is Hiashi Hyuga." He said the blush never leaving his face. 'Damn! I feel like such an idiot' he thought and his blush spread. The girl lightly giggled seeing him blush cherry red.

"I'm Hikari… Iyuzuwa Hikari. Nice to meet you!" She said and Hiashi nodded his head.

"You can't be from here 'cause I've never seen you around before." Hiashi said or more like stated and Hikari giggled again.

"Yes you're right. I come from Shiwakagure a hidden village somewhere in the land of Steel." She said and smiled yet again. "I'm here with my mother for some business she has with your Hokage." She said and Hiashi nodded his head.

"Aren't you afraid to visit places in a town you don't know without your mother by your side. I mean… what if someone attacks you? What if someone tries to hurt you?" Hiashi said and Hikari giggled again.

"First of all, people are very friendly and helpful here so I don't think I have to worry. Secondly I'm seventeen years old and a kunoichi which means I can pretty much protect myself in case it is needed." She said with confidence and giggled yet again to she Hiashi's kind of shocked expression and blush.

"You must think I'm very weird, huh?" Hiashi said and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Yes I think you're weird…" Hikari said with a small laugh and Hiashi chuckled as she stood up and started walking past him and towards Konoha's streets. He turned around to see her walking away when she suddenly stopped on her tracks and turned around to look at him. "…but I never said I don't like weird people." She said and Hiashi smiled.

"Will I ever see you again?" He asked her and she smiled an angelic smile.

"Of course." She said and Hiashi smiled again as he saw her turn around and leave holding a red chrysanthemum in her right hand.

_..love…_

**Flash Back End**

Hiashi closed his eyes tight in an attempt to block all the images of his past. His heart ached as the memories came back to him.

"I'm sorry…" He heard his daughter say in a low soft voice and his eyes opened in an instant. She was standing in front of his desk with her head held low and her eyes looking anywhere but him. "I shouldn't have questioned your decisions. I promise I will not bother you again… father." She said, hurt evident in her voice. She bowed in front of her father and turned around to leave the office. She opened the door only to come face to face with her grandpa and Neji who looked rather shocked. They had most probably heard the argument Hinata knew. She didn't say anything, just walked past them and out of the house. She had to talk with someone about all this and Kurenai seemed to be the most suitable person right now.

Hiashi raised his head to only to see his father and Neji standing at the doorway and looking at him.

"Neji, go and call the one I was telling you about yesterday and tell him that the Hyuga meeting will be carried out this evening. Don't forget to also warn him not to be late." Hiashi said and Neji nodded his head.

"Hai" Neji said and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Akio remained thre looking at his son. He slowly stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He then turned to fce his son again.

"What was all this about?" Akio asked in a serious voice his cold white eyes never leaving his son's.

"I don't know what you are talking about." Hiashi said and sat back on his chair.

"You know very well what I'm talking about. What was all this with Hinata? Why were you arguing with my granddaughter like that?" Akio said in a bit angry tone.

"I'm sure that both you and my nephew heard quiet well what we were arguing about." Hiashi replied with equal anger in his voice.

"Yes, you were arguing with her because she was right and you were wrong. Why the hell did you listen to Hideo and arranged the meeting for tonight when three of us were buried only yesterday?" Akio said and Hiashi sighted.

"I'm just trying to keep Hideo at bay. You know that he's not only a strong man but also dangerous. I'm not doing this for my safety but for the safety of my children. I'm only trying to protect them!" Hiashi replied and Akio shook his head.

"All you manage to do in the end though is to push them away." Akio said and Hiashi narrowed his eyes.

"How can you judge me when you were doing the exact same with me and Hizashi? You would always put the clan first. You never acted like a father towards us. All we ever were to you was an heir and a slave that would protect the heir!" Hiashi said in anger and Akio looked at him with hurt evident in his eyes.

"And I paid the price didn't I? I lost one of my sons. I was cursed to live the rest of my life mourning for my lost child." Akio said and Hiashi's face softened. "Don't make the same mistakes I did, son." Akio said and left the room. Hiashi sat there, alone in his office as silence fell all around him once more with the Tik Tok sound of the wall clock being the only thing he heard. And then he realized how he had never felt that alone in his life before.

"_Will I ever see you again?" he asked her and her angelic lavender eyes looked into his cold white ones before she answered._

"_Of course."_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Kurenai put her hair up in a ponytail before she entered the kitchen to check on her food. She took a big wooden spoon from the counter and mixed the soup in the heavy pot before she tasted some. 'Tasty' she thought and added a bit more salt.

Suddenly she heard a knock from the front door and she quickly went to answer it.

"Oh it's you Hinata!" Kurenai exclaimed happily as soon as she opened the door to see her favorite student standing there. Hinata offered her a weak smile in return. "Come in." Kurenai said with a small smile and Hinata stepped in.

"I hope I don't bother you." Hinata said and Kurenai laughed.

"You never bother me Hinata." Kurenai said. "Get a seat and I'll join you as soon as I check on the food once more. Would you like some tea?" Kurenai asked her and Hinata shook her head.

"No thanks." Hinata said and Kurenai nodded her head before going in the kitchen yet again. Hinata slowly walked into the living room and sat down on the big grey couch and took in a deep shaky breath in an attempt to calm down.

"_You don't know what this is about"_

"Hinata, are you ok?" Kurenai asked softly bringing Hinata out of her thoughts.

"Yes… yes I'm fine."

"How are you? You know… about yesterday. How do you feel?" Kurenai said as she brushed some hair out of Hinata's face. Hinata raised her head to look at her and offered her a weak smile.

"I'm… I'm better." Hinata said softly.

"Don't mind me but you sure don't look like it." Kurenai said. "Did you get any sleep?" She asked and Hinata shook her head. She looked at her sensei once more. She wanted to tell Kurenai everything that has happened but she decided not to. Her sensei already had many things to worry about and the last thing Hinata wanted right now was to make her worry any farther.

"Sensei I…" She tried to tell her about everything but she stopped. She shook her head in an attempt to regain her composure. "Where's Kouta?" She said trying to change the subject but Kurenai knew. She could see it in Hinata's eyes. Worry, fear, sadness… She didn't say a thing though. She didn't want to pressure Hinata and she knew that she would tell her when she felt ready to.

"He's cleaning his room." Kurenai replied with a smile and Hinata laughed. "Kouta! Hinata's here!" Kurenai called softly and the little boy was out of his room in an instant.

"Hinata nee! Hinata nee!" Kouta said excitedly as he run out of his room in an instant and hugged Hinata. Hinata laughed. She truly loved this small boy.

"How are you Kou-kun?" Hinata asked and Kouta gave her a toothy grin.

"Great!" The small boy replied with the same excitement as before. "Nee-chan did you know that my birthday is coming up soon?" Kouta asked and Hinata nodded with a laugh. "What are you going to get me nee-chan?"

"I don't know yet. What would you want?" Hinata asked him softly and Kouta grinned.

"I'm going to tell you but don't tell mom ok?" Kouta whispered but Kurenai who had heard her son, narrowed her eyes teasingly and shook her head. Kouta leaned towards Hinata's ear and whispered to her. "I want some kunais please."

"You don't get any kunais until you enter the academy." Kurenai said and Kouta pouted making Hinata laugh yet again.

"But that's in three years moooooooom." Kouta whined.

"Exactly!" Kurenai said and they all laughed as Kouta pouted.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Maaaaaaaaaan I'm so bored!" Kiba whined and Akamaru barked in agreement. "See even Akamaru agrees with me. If only Tsunade gave us some missions things would be more interesting around here."

"I'm sure that Hokage-sama has her reasons for not letting us attend any missions at the moment." Shino said calmly as they walked through Konoha's busy and full of life open market.

"Come on! Admit it! You're also bored." Kiba said, eyeing his friend.

"Maybe." Shino simply said and Kiba groaned.

"You're an ass." Kiba said and Akamaru barked in agreement.

"And your best friend." Shino said coolly and Kiba groaned again.

"Yeah I forgot about that." Kiba said and kept walking when he realized that Shino had stopped in his tracks. "Hey bug boy! Are you coming or what?"

"Ehh, I just remembered that there's something I have to do back home." Shino said and Kiba nodded his head.

"Ok. I and Akamaru will walk for a tad more. See ya later bug boy." Kiba said as he saw Shino running in the direction of his home. "He sure is an ass." Kiba told Akamaru who barked in return with something that could be translated as _Why do you say so?. _Kiba shrugged. "No reason. He just is." He said before turning around only to bump into another person.

"Can't you watch where you're going?" A young woman said irritated as she bent down to collect the scrolls and small bottles of medicine that fell out of her basket when Kiba bumped into her.

"S-sorry." Kiba said at once as he also knelt down to help her with her things. "Here." He said as he gave her two of the small bottles and helped her stand up again.

"Thanks." She said as she raised her head to see who had bumped into her before but was kind enough to help her. Hazel eyes met dark brown and they both gasped. 'Oh my God' both of them thought.

"Umm…sorry about all the mess. I'm Kiba by the way." Kiba said and blushed when he saw the girl smile at him.

"I'm Mai!" She said and an ever so light pink stained her soft cheeks. "Is this your dog?" Mai said as soon as she saw Akamaru.

"Yes, this is Akamaru." Kiba said as he saw her kneel in front of Akamaru and extend her hand. Akamaru put his paw on her hand and barked happily. "I think he likes you!" Kiba said with a chuckle and Mai laughed while patting Akamaru's head.

"Well, I like him too." She said and Akamaru barked happily again.

"Again sorry about all the mess before." Kiba said as soon as Mai stood up to face him. She smiled.

"Don't worry about it. Nothing broke anyway." She said.

"What about I treat you to ramen tomorrow though? You know like an 'I'm sorry for the trouble' gesture." Kiba suggested and Mai nodded her head with a smile.

"I'd love that." She said and Kiba grinned.

"So what about we meet at Ichiraku's at 5:30 pm tomorrow?"

"I'll be there." She said before she started walking away with a smile. Kiba grinned.

"Things just got interesting buddy." Kiba said and Akamaru barked happily in agreement. 'Mai…'

Shino was running towards team 8's old training grounds. He didn't have any business to do back at his house as he had told Kiba before. It was all just an excuse for him to go and see someone he hadn't seen for a while. Someone he had dearly missed. Someone he loved.

He stopped as soon as he entered the old training grounds of his team and looked at the young woman standing a few meters in front of him with her back turned to him. Shino took small yet determined steps towards the woman and softly wrapped his arms around her waist. The woman leaned on him before turning around in their embrace to face him. With small firm hands she took his black glasses letting her gentle dark brown eyes meet his. She smiled and Shino leaned down to gently brush his lips over hers. They loved each other yet no one knew about it. Their love was forbidden they knew but they didn't care.

"I missed you …" Shino said softly and the young woman in his arms smiled again. "…Hana"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Neji was pacing outside the closed doors of the room where the Hyuga meeting would be carried out in less than ten minutes. 'Where is he?' Neji thought nervously. 'He should have already been here.'

"Sorry I'm late." A young male voice said and Neji raised his head to look at him.

"You really have no sense of time, do you Naruto?" Neji said sarcastically and Naruto nervously laughed.

"Sorry but Tsunade wanted to inform me about something." Naruto said with a nervous grin. "So… why did you call me here for? When you visited me this morning you said that it was urgent that I am here this evening. Is everything alright? Is Hinata ok?" Naruto asked getting worried with his own words and Neji shook his head.

"Everything is alright… for now that is." Neji mumbled under his breath but Naruto heard him.

"Hey what is that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked and his eyes narrowed. Neji sighted.

"To begin with only I and Hiashi-sama know about your presence here tonight." Neji started saying and Naruto looked at him confused. "In about five minutes the Hyuga meeting will start and Hiashi is afraid that an argument between the clan members at present might start and thus Hinata may be in danger. I and the rest of the members of the branch house will protect her in case anything happens but Hiashi is afraid that if an argument does happen then the members of the main house would easily activate our seals in case we try to oppose to them." Neji explained but Naruto still seemed to be a tad confused.

"I don't understand." Naruto said. "Why would the other members of the main house try to harm Hinata? It doesn't make any sense."

"It is about the thing that will be discussed tonight. Something that one of the main house members brought up a while ago. It is about whether Hinata will be our next leader or not. As you know, the branch house supports Hinata while most of the main house members don't. This means that whichever the final decision actually is, some will react." Neji explained and Naruto nodded his head in understanding. "That's why we called you here tonight. We think that you are the most capable of saving Hinata in case it is needed."

"You don't even have to say that. You know how I would never let anything bad happen to her." Naruto said in a serious yet determined voice. Neji smiled a bit before he turned around to enter the room for the meeting but stopped for a moment and said. "Don't forget to mask your charka. The hyugas won't be pleased if they find out that someone from outside the clan is watching their private meeting." Neji said and entered the rom, leaving the door a tad open so Naruto could see what was going on inside the room.

Neji walked farther into the room and was greeted with a nod by many as he took his seat beside Ko and Tokuma. He looked around the huge room. The walls were decorated with beautiful handmade drawings, pictures of the previous leaders of the clan as well as old katanas of great value. Everyone was sitting on big comfortable cushions, those from the branch house on the left side while those from the main house were sitting on the right side of the leader.

Hinata was sitting on a cushion close to her father's seat with their grandpa right next to her.

Suddenly the second door of the room opened and Hiashi slowly stepped in with everyone bowing their heads to him. Neji raised his head to look at Hinata as Hiashi took his seat. His cousin was looking anywhere but her father but Neji couldn't quiet understand why. Was it fear towards her father? Was it sadness, grief? Then he saw what it was. Disappointment…

"Today we are gathered here after Hideo-san's request." Hiashi started saying in his most serious and diplomatic voice as his eyes shifted to none other than Hideo. "Please Hideo-san. Could you tell us why you so urgently called us here tonight?" He said and Hideo nodded his head before he stood up from his seat in order to speak.

Hanabi was walking towards the room where the meeting would be carried out, as silently as she could. She was not allowed to attend the meeting because of her age but that didn't mean she wouldn't go without them taking notice.

"Naruto?" Hanabi whispered in shock to see the blonde standing outside the half-open door of the meeting room. "What are you doing here?" She asked again with a whisper as Naruto turned his head to face her.

"You know… I would ask the exact same." He replied in a low voice and Hanabi narrowed her eyes in a childish way as she walked closer to the door in order to hear what was being said inside. "Ne ne ne… someone is curious, hai?" Naruto said teasingly and Hanabi kicked him in response.

"I'm not curious, just inderested." Hanabi said before Naruto could protest about the kick. "And do not dare say anything about the kick!" She warned him and Naruto pouted. "You deserved it anyway."

"Maaaan… you're just like Konohamaru." Naruto said and Hanabi kicked him again.

"Shut up or I'll kick you again!" Hanabi warned.

"You're lucky I don't want to spare my kunais on you cause I need them to protect Hinata…" Naruto mumbled under his breathe.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!"

A small fake smile plastered on Hideo's lips as he opened his mouth to begin his speech.

- "As you all know, I always cared and worked for our clan. I always tried to solve any problems that would show up or take certain measures in order to make sure our clan was not in any short of danger." He said and some in the room nodded their heads in agreement and support while others just shook their head in disapproval. "While I was sitting at office the other day, a thought that suddenly came to my mind bothered me greatly. As everyone in here knows the eldest daughter of our leader and heir of the clan, turned eighteen only four months ago. According to the rules of our clan, an heir becomes the leader of the clan within six months since his or her eighteenth birthday. That means that Hinata-sama shall take her place as the next leader within the next two months." Hideo explained with such an innocence and kindness in his voice that made Hinata and many others have the urge to throw up. Hideo slowly walked towards Hinata only to stop a meter or two away from her. Hiashi and Akio looked at Hideo with disgust, knowing what was coming next. "But the question is…" Hideo said as he shifted his eyes to look at Hinata with hate but his voice never living its faked kindness. "Is Hinata-sama worth the position of the leader of this clan?" He finally said with an evil smile slowly creping in his face. Everyone in the room, except from Hinata and Akio, instantly stood up in rage.

- "How dare you call our heir worthless?" Hoheto yelled at Hideo in anger. "This is a disgrace!"

- "It is not a disgrace. It is just the truth." Hideo replied in an extremely calm voice. "I and many others in here discussed about it and we all think that Hinata-sama is not suitable to be our next leader. Hanabi-sama on the other hand, would be a much more effective and strong leader. It is not a secret of course that Hanabi-sama has won all the matches she had with her older sister during training."

- "You don't know a thing about my cousin!" Neji yelled angrily. "She would give her life for this clan. For her whole life she has been trying to come up to everyone's expectations in this clan and what she gets are your offensive words!"

- "Hinata-sama is not only a great person but a very strong one as well." Tokuma said more calmly. "She is an exceptional jonin and if my memory serves me correctly, the Fifth asked for her to become an Anbu but Hinata-sama refused in order to have more time in her hands for her friends and family."

- "We don't say that Hanabi-sama isn't a great person as well or that she wouldn't make a great leader just like Hinata-sama but it is Hinata-sama's birthright to be the next leader and we think she deserves it no matter what you say." Haruki said in a more kind way and Ko nodded his head in agreement.

- "I've been Hinata's bodyguard ever since she was born and I've seen with my own eyes how much she tries for everything to be right in the clan." Ko said in a calm yet threatening voice. "You and the rest of the hyuga council members can say whatever you want but our opinions won't change." He said and Hideo laughed.

- "Do you think you're in the position to choose?" Hideo said. "You all belong in the branch house. You were born to follow the orders of the main house and even die for them. You're in no position to make decisions that have to do with the future of this clan."

- "He may not but I am!" Hiashi said strictly as he stood up from his seat and approached Hideo. "What do you want Hideo?"

- "I want a match." Hideo said simply as he shifted his eyes towards Hinata once more. Akio lightly toughed his grandaughter's shoulder just to let her know she wasn't alone in all this before Hideo continued. "A match between the two sisters. The winner of this match will prove her value and will be the next leader of our clan." Hideo said and everyone in the room gasped. Hiashi closed his eyes in irritation. He was afraid that Hideo would ask for something like this and even if Hiashi was the leader of the clan, he wouldn't be able to turn down a decision of the counsil. He opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Hinata. If she gave up her title then the match wouldn't take place and none of his children would die. Because Hiashi knew that even if it was not supposed to be a match till death, death was most of the time the outcome of those matches.

- "Hinata?" He said with pleading eyes as he saw her slowly stand up. On the one hand he didn't want her to give up her title because he knew she deserved to be the next leader but on the other hand he couldn't imagine of loosing either her or Hanabi.

She took small yet determined steps towards Hideo and the rest six council members standing beside him. She raised her head and her eyes showed hate and discust for the man. Everyone was looking at her, waiting for her reply. During the meeting she didn't say a word but now she would speak and she would say many.

"I'm not giving up my title and I **won't** fight my sister!" She said in a determined and serious tone.

"I'm afraid this is something you cannot do Hinata-sama! The council has taken its decisions!" Hideo said in anger as he narrowed his eyes.

"You have forgotten something Hideo-san." She said and smirked as Hideo tilted his head in confusion. "I am not my father. He may follow the decisions and orders of the council but I am not!" She said and most of the people in the room including Naruto, smirked in satisfaction. "Nothing and I mean **nothing, **will **ever **make me fight my sister! Believe me when I say that if it was in my hand I would have given up my position as the heir of this clan, many years ago!"

"Then why don't you do it Hinata-_sama_? Why don't you give up your title?" Hideo said in a sarcastic yet angry tone.

"Do you think I'm stupid? It's clear that you want my sister to be the next leader only in order to have her follow all the orders of the council. She would be a strong weapon in your hands, wouldn't she? Someone you could use in order to have your whims for power fulfilled. Am I wrong?" She said. "You knew that if I became the leader of the hyugas, you wouldn't have any power on me and you are damped if you think that **I** will let you use my sister like that! You said that I lost all the matches against my youngest sister in the past just because I'm weak and I'm now telling you that I would rather die than lay a finger or my sister." She said as a tear of frustration rolled down her cheek. "I preferred to hear my father's insults or have him yelling at me that I'm weak for loosing against my baby sister. I preferred to just stand there before my sister, pretending to fight and in the end get hurt to the point I couldn't even stand on my feet or even breathe just because I didn't want to hurt her. And do you know what? I don't regret it one bit!" She confessed and everyone gasped. "Because I promised my mother that I would protect my sister and I will do it even if it means I die!" She said in a low voice with tears now fully covering her cheeks. "And I promise you now that if you ever attempt to harm my family you are as good as dead." She said in a very low yet threatening voice for only him to hear and turned around to leave not sparing a look to her father.

Hanabi's cheeks were slowly covered with tears as she heard her sister. She would always think Hinata as a rival when they were younger. Even if things had changed many years ago and she had understood that having her sister as a rival was wrong, Hanabi couldn't help but feel guilty now. She knew that Hinata didn't say all those things because she hated but in order to prove how much she loved and cared about her. Yet thinking of everything she had done to her older sister, made her feel bad, simply because she loved her sister even if it took her some time to realize it all those years back.

"Hanabi?" Naruto said in a low voice as he saw the thirteen year old genin running towards her room in tears.

Hinata opened the door through which her father had entered the room just almost an hour ago. She could feel everyone's eyes on her back as she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her. The person she came face to face though, was someone she didn't expect to see right now.

Her teary soft lavender eyes met her grandma's gentle purple ones.

"You heard everything didn't you?" Hinata said through a weak laugh as she tried to brush away her tears.

"Why didn't you ever let me know about this?" Hitomi said in a soft and gentle voice as she looked at her eldest grandchild through pleading eyes.

"You would know about it if you were here or if at least you answered to my letters." Hinata said in a trembling voice as she looked at her grandma for one last time before walking past her and towards her room.

Hitomi stayed there, looking at the spot Hinata was standing only moments ago. Tears gathered in her deep purple eyes as she brought a trembling hand to her lips. 'What have I done?' She thought, closing her eyes to let the tears free. She felt a hand gently touch her shoulder.

"Hitomi-sama, are you ok?" A young woman gently asked.

"Yes Mai I'm ok. I only need some rest that's all." Hitomi said as she opened her eyes to look at the girl beside her.

Hinata closed and locked the door of her room. She didn't want to see or talk to anyone right now. She walked towards her wardrobe and took out some clothes before she got into the bathroom to get changed. She took off her kimono and quickly got dressed into a pair of black pants with a black T-shirt and a navy blue jacket.

She looked herself at the mirror and sighed. Her cheeks and eyes were puffy from crying earlier.

She slowly opened the door of her bathroom and walked into her room with her kimono in hand. A light breeze suddenly hit her and her eyes widened in shock. 'Breeze? How can there be a breeze in here when I didn't open the window?' She thought as she turned her head to look at the direction of her window. She gasped in fear and her silk kimono fell from her hands and hit the floor. A tall dark figure was standing a few feet in front of her window and inside her room, his eyes looking intently into hers. She felt her heart start beating faster and her breathe to quicken. The man didn't do anything. He didn't speak or move. He just stayed there and looked at her. And then Hinata understood who was standing before her because even in piss darkness she would always know to whom those warm deep blue eyes belonged to. She smiled.

"Naruto?" She said in a voice barely above a whisper while taking small steps towards him. She stopped in front of him and smiled to be able to see his face thanks to the moonlight coming through her window. She extended her hand and lightly touched his cheek to make sure he was real and she wasn't dreaming. He smiled with his warm eyes never leaving her gentle ones. "What are you doing here?"

"Cone on." He simply said with a smile as he extended his hand to her.

"Come where?"

"That's a secret." He said with a teasing grin and she lightly laughed. "Don't you trust me?" He asked her with a charming smile and she laughed again as she put her hand on his.

"Of course I-"But she couldn't finish her word as Naruto scooped her up in his arms with a laugh. "Naruto what are you doing?" She said through soft laughs.

"Close your eyes and don't open them till I tell you, ok?" He said teasingly and she nodded, closing her eyes. Naruto grinned once more before jumping through the open window and in the night air. With Hinata in his arms.

Hinata felt the night air hitting her face and her cheeks flushed red to remember how Naruto was holding her.

They were traveling for almost ten minutes when she felt Naruto stopping and setting her down but his hands never leaving hers. Naruto leaned towards her ear and whispered.

"Open your eyes." He said in the softest and most caring voice Hinata had ever heard. Her heart started beating faster again as her eyes slowly opened to meet his. She smiled before turning her head to look around her. She gasped in front of the beauty of the place they where at. They where at a small opening somewhere in the forest. The gentle touch of moonlight made the waters of the waterfall seem like the crystal tears shed by angels as small white and lilac moon flowers covered the ground. Small fireflies were flying here and there making the whole scenery even more beautiful. Hinata smiled. She had never seen something like this before.

"I found this place four years ago while returning from a solo mission. I've never told anyone else about this place." Naruto said as Hinata turned her head to see him sitting on the ground. She smiled and sat next to him.

"Really? You haven't told anyone else before?" Hinata asked surprised and Naruto shook his head with his smile.

"Nope! I guess that makes you the first to know." He said with a grin and a light blush staining his cheeks.

"This place is beautiful." Hinata admitted and Naruto nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah it is. It is something like my little heaven." He confessed with a blush. "I always come here when I want to relax." He said and Hinata sighed as she lay down on the grass, with her eyes looking at the night sky and the stars above her.

"You were at the meeting, weren't you?" She said but Naruto didn't answer. "You must think I'm a complete idiot for all the things I said back at the meeting." She said and sighed again as she covered her face with both her hands. A couple of seconds past until she felt two strong yet firm hand gently grab her and taking them away from her face. She opened her beautiful eyes to see Naruto hovering over her, with his hands holding hers and his eyes looking intently and lovingly into hers like they always did.

"How could I ever think something like this about you?" He said softly and blushed when he realized how his face was only inches above hers. Neither of them moved though. They could feel how their breaths mingled and how their lips were only inches away. They both knew how in only one move their lips could be connected yet no one did it unsure of what the other felt. Naruto slowly left her hands and lay down beside her with his hands behind his head as a pillow. "Your father and Neji asked me to protect you in case anything happened during the meeting." Naruto said after a long pause and Hinata nodded her head. This sure seemed like something her father would do. "I think that everything you said back there was pretty cool. You defended your self and your sister." He said softly and Hinata smiled.

"I still worry though." She admitted and Naruto turned his head to look at her once more. "I'm sure Hideo isn't done yet. He must be planning something." She said and sighed. He wanted to tell her how she didn't have to worry cause he would always be there to protect her. He wanted to tell her how he didn't want to see her sad and how he would always be there for her simply because he loved her. Yet he didn't say anything. He looked her for a little longer before he turned to look at the night sky decorated with millions of stars. "I've never seen so many stars before." He heard her say in a low voice. "Their beautiful."

"Yeah, they're beautiful." He agreed with a smile. A minute of silence passed before he spoke again. "Hinata, I-" He turned his head and tried to tell her something but stopped. Her eyes were closed and she was sound asleep. 'She must have been very tired.' Naruto thought with a smile as he got closer to her and brushed some her out of her beautiful face. He leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on her temple before he finally said it.

"I love you"


	5. Chapter 5:Bonds

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OTHER PRODUCTS IN THIS FANFICTION. I **ONLY OWN THE STORYLINE!**

**Here is a rewritten and revised version of a Naruto fanfic I wrote a few years back. Enjoy!**

**p.s. Excuse me fore any stupid errors please!**

**-FairyLullaby**

**Chapter 5: Bonds**

It was a dark night. A night darker than all the others. The full moon was hid behind countless of heavy navy blue and black clouds hanging from the wild night sky. The temperature was pretty low and the cold unbearable. It felt as if many sharp knives were crashing through your flesh, tearing your body apart and being stabbed deep into your bones. The dead yellow leaves were wildly crashing on the ground as the wind danced through the branches of the old treas.

A dark figure was moving like a shadow though the darkness. His steps were slow yet steady and determined as his long black clock covered his characteristics. The masked man walked a little farther into the woods before he finally stopped. He turned his head to look around. Old burned trees surrounded him and he noticed how a thin layer of ash and fire coal covered the ground.

He felt a chill run down his spine. He was coming. He could sense it…

He heard heavy steps coming from behind him and then stop and he turned around. He slowly took off the hood of his cloak to let his long dark brown hair free before he raised his head to look at the man standing before him.

"I knew you would come…" The other man said with a heavy dark voice. "…Hideo." Hideo smirked.

"What an interesting place for a meeting." Hideo said sarcastically while looking around once more.

"Sorry for all the mess but my students got a bit carried away with their training." The masked man said with an evil chuckle. "So. How did the Hyuga meeting go?" He asked and Hideo's white cold eyes were covered with rage at once.

"Not very well." He said through his teeth in an attempt to keep his cool. "It is that things didn't go as planned. Hinata didn't accept the council's decision and made me look ridiculous in front of everyone. She also threatened to kill me if I ever harmed her family, before she actually left the room." Hideo said with rage now evident in his voice.

"Hinata? When we talked you didn't mention her name and just referred to her as the _hyuga heir_. "The masked man said with another evil chuckle leaving his lips. "That name actually brings back memories." He said as Hideo looked at him with a questioning look.

"Brings back memories?" Hideo asked or more like stated.

"Yes." The other man said coolly. "Her name brings me back to the chunnin exams six years ago. It was during Naruto's and that hyuga prodigy's fight when she among with a dog boy attended the match. During the match though she started coughing out blood to the point she fainted. Her friend had started yelling like mad asking for help and I helped. Even though the dog boy didn't trust me he let me heal her in the end." He said coolly as he raised his black eyes to look at Hideo's rather impassive face. "I never thought that a weak girl like her would have the guts to face the 'oh so great Hideo'. It is rather impressive if you ask me." He finished with pure sarcasm evident in his voice, but Hideo didn't say a thing.

"I want her dead!" Hideo said in a very serious and threatening voice after a long pause.

"Yes, you've already told me that, but you never said why." The man said with an evil smirk perfectly his under the hood of his bloody red cloak. "Why do you want her dead Hideo? Don't tell me you're afraid of someone as weak as her."

"She's not weak." Hideo said in the same serious voice. "She's already strong but if my suspicions are correct then we shouldn't just worry but fear!"

"Here's where you're wrong, Hideo. You are worried! You are afraid, I'm not! In truth I don't give a damn about the hyuga girl. My target is someone else and that someone is the only reason I accepted to help you kill the girl so that you could help me in return!" The man said more seriously and Hideo furrowed his eyebrows.

"Don't tell me things I already know." Hideo said with his voice being as cold as the night air. "There's something I don't understand though. Why do you want to kill the boy?" He said. "Why do you want to kill Uzumaki Naruto?" He said and the masked man's hands started to tremble. He slowly raised his hands to take of the hood of his cloak and Hideo gasped to see the other man's face. He knew who the mysterious man under the hood was, but he never actually managed to see his face before. The man raised his black eyes to look at Hideo once more. He had long grey hair held in a low ponytail on his back with two long bangs framing his face. Half of his face was severely burned and his skin looked like the ground after a long draught, while his extremely skinny figure made him look like a skeleton.

"Look at me!" The man said in a loud and angry voice. "Look what I have become! It is all because of him. It is all because of Naruto. During the war he extracted any hint of Orochimaru from within me! He took most of my power and almost killed me! Or should I say he thought he killed me!" He shouted. "I'm nothing but a lost soul roaming on earth! I want revenge and you will help me!" He said in a lower tone as an evil smirk creped on his face. "But I won't kill him. Not yet at least. Firstly, I will make him suffer. I will have him see the deaths of those he loves the most. I'll make him pain with every single fiber of his being and when he will have lost everything, then and only then will I kill him with my own hands and I will make his death as painful as it takes!" He promised and Hideo smirked.

"That sounds like a very good plan…" Hideo said and bowed. "…Kabuto-sama!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_He was walking through thousands of lilies, with his eyes closed and smelling the flowers' magnificent scent. He could feel the soft grass under his bare feet and the light breeze softly hitting his face._

_He felt so at peace and free like never before. It all felt so nostalgic. The intoxicating and beautiful scent of the white lilies, the light summer breeze, the soft grass under his feet, the warm sun hitting his frame. _

_He slowly stopped walking and opened his eyes when someone suddenly called him from afar._

"_Naruto." An old heavy enthusiastic male voice said and Naruto slowly turned around to look towards the direction the voice was heard. He saw a faint familiar figure appear in a distance. He smiled and his deep blue eyes shone with happiness to see the old man walk towards him and stop a few meters in front of him. Someone he hadn't seen for a really long time._

"_Pervy-sage!" Naruto said with his smile never leaving his lips and Jiraiya laughed._

"_I didn't know you missed me so much." Jiraiya said teasingly as a playful smile graced his lips._

"_What are you talking about? Of course I missed you!" Naruto replied as his smile slowly left his face and his eyes saddened. Jiraiya's face became serious at once as he looked at Naruto with eyes filled with worry about his godson._

"_Since when have you become that serious?" Jiraiya said with a light chuckle and Naruto just shook his head with a bitter smile gracing his lips._

"_I don't know really." Naruto admitted. "It must be a couple of months now. It's just that… things have changed and I… I don't know what to do." He said and shook his head in an attempt to forget about everything._

"_Are you afraid?" Jiraiya asked in a low serious yet caring voice and Naruto's head shot up at once with his eyes wide in shock. He hesitated to answer. Maybe because he wasn't sure himself. Was he really afraid?_

"_Of course and I'm not afraid." Naruto said with a chuckle trying to prove he was telling the truth. His eyes gave him away though._

"_You are." Jiraiya said with a sad smile. "You are afraid to loose her…" He said. "… Right?" Naruto just bent his head and closed his eyes. Yes, he was afraid. He was afraid to loose the most important person to him. He was afraid to loose the one he loved the most. He was afraid to loose her. He didn't say a thing to Jiraiya though as he knew his sensei had already gotten his answer. He suddenly felt a heavy hand touching his shoulder but he didn't raise his head to look the other man in the eye._

"_Everything is going to be ok. That's what you always told me right?" Jiraiya said and Naruto nodded his head with a smile slowly creping up his face. "Godson, you will have a great future and with the people you love, at that." Jiraiya said with a small chuckle. "Dattebayo!" Naruto nodded his head once more with a smile as he felt Jiraiya's hand leaving his shoulder. He raised his head and his eyes glued on the retreating back of his sensei as he saw him disappearing from his life once more. _

_He raised his right hand to his chest as he felt a bittersweet feeling building up within his heart._

"_Thank you… "He said with his hand lightly clutching the thin materiel of his black T-shirt. "…Sensei"_

_The light summer breeze hit his body once more as an angelic sound filled his ears. He slowly turned around and his heart started beating faster. She was dancing between the thousands of white lilies with her beautiful eyes held tight closed and her long midnight hair flowing around her like a waterfall. The knee length white dress she was wearing made her look like an angel and her beauty seemed to surpass everything._

_She slowly stopped her graceful dance as if she had felt his presence there. Her eyes slowly opened and a sweet and soft smile graced her lips._

"_Naruto." She said softly and her smile made his heart skip a bit._

"_Hinata…" He said as he made a step to approach her. A very wild wind suddenly hit him as the sky filled with heavy black clouds at once. He saw the beautiful white lilies slowly die and the leaves from the tress turning yellow and start falling._

_His face obtained a worried yet confused expression on it. 'What the hell is going on?' He thought. A loud groan of pain was heard and his eyes instantly fell on Hinata. _

_She had both of her small delicate hands above her stomach as a pained expression covered her beautiful facial characteristics. She groaned in pain again and he saw as dark red liquid started staining her white dress. _

"_N-Naruto." She said in a trembling voice with her eyes looking at him pleadingly. His eyes widened as he saw her hands and dress slowly being covered in blood. He tried to run towards her. Help her. But his feet kept being glued on the ground as if an invisible force was holding him back. He saw her felling on her knees before her body hit the muddy ground._

"_Hinata!" He screamed in agony but he still couldn't move. "Hinata! Hinata!" He screamed again as her pearl like eyes slowly closed. "Damn it!" He exclaimed in anger and exasperation as a tear rolled down his cheek. He tried to move again but nothing. He fell on his knees with his hands into fists as he kept calling out for her. _

_No matter how much he would shout and scream though, she wouldn't open her eyes. The light rosy pink color that always stained her soft cheeks had now disappeared. Her face paled as less and less breaths came out of her while a pool of ivory red blood started forming around her. He tried crawling towards her still calling her name. He managed to crawl a meter or two but that invisible force held him back again. He started fighting against his invisible chains but his attempts proved to be in vain. He turned his deep blue eyes on Hinata again, tears running endlessly down his face._

"_H-Hinata…" He said in a trembling voice as he restrained against his invisible chains once more. "Come on… open your eyes… please, look at me." He pleaded. He bent his head low. He felt so defeated, so sad… so useless. Useless to protect the woman he loved. Useless to save her._

_A heavy light suddenly split the dark sky in two and fell over Hinata. Naruto shot up his head at once looking at the scene in front of him in awe. He saw as a figure slowly appeared from within the light and he gasped. Huge feather wings slowly opened to reveal the one who possessed them. The young beautiful woman with the navy blue hair and deep lavender eyes knelt beside Hinata's limp body. 'An angel' Naruto thought in awe with his eyes still wide open. _

_The woman extended her right hand and lightly touched Hinata's cheek with the back of her hand. Her eyes were looking caring at the young woman lying on the ground. Hinata's blood slowly stained the tips of the angel's feather wings as the angel leaned over her and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. The woman slowly took Hinata's hand into hers before she raised her head to look at Naruto. _

_Tears of blood were endlessly running down the angel's face as she looked into the boy's deep blue eyes filled with pain._

"_Save her." The angel said in a soft pleading voice. "Please, save my daughter."_

He shot up from bed at once as he brought his hand to his chest in an attempt to control his unstable breathing. He felt every muscle of his body tense to the point it hurt as cold sweat stared running down his face. "Damn!" He cursed under his breath as he put his face into his hands for a moment, trying to regain his calm. "Damn! Damn! Damn!" He cursed louder as he quickly took one of his pillows and threw it with extreme force against the wall.

He had been having the same dream for five days now and it had started having a toll on him. The first time he saw this dream, he thought it was because of everything that had happened or that it was just him overreacting over the things that had lately happened. After so many days of having the same dream again and again, he had started to worry though. What if it wasn't just a silly dream as Sasuke said. What if it was some kind of message? Or someone wanted to warn him about something soon to happen?

He was so confused.

He stood up from bed and quickly got dressed in his normal jonin attire before he walked out of his apartment and closed the door behind him not even bothering to lock.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She saw as the dark night sky was slowly filled with hundreds of colors before it actually turned to blue and the sun took its original position between numerous creamy white clouds.

She hadn't slept the whole night but she didn't really care about it. That was something that would happen every year that same day ever since that incident all those years back.

A sigh of tiredness left her lips as she slowly stood up from her bed. She was very tired yet she didn't seem to be able to have any sleep.

She walked towards her wardrobe and opened one of the drawers to take out some clothes. Her eyes saddened a bit though at the sight of the small calendar laid on top of her clothes. She didn't quite know how the calendar had actually ended up in a drawer full of clothes, but she didn't really care. She had most probably thrown it there one day in an attempt to forget. Forget about what today was.

She took the calendar in her hands and her fingertips lightly touched the numbers one by one until they found the one with the red circle around it. _November 22nd_

The calendar instantly fell from her hands as she quickly stood up and took some steps behind.

A tear threatened to run down her cheek but she held it back. Of course she remembered what today was even if she wished she could actually forget.

She shook her head to get rid of all her thoughts before she took some clothes, got dressed and left her room not even bothering to lift the calendar from the floor.

She slowly opened the wooden door of her sister's bedroom, careful not to make a sound as she walked towards her bed.

She knelt down beside the bed and saw as her little sister sleeping in piece. She smiled as she lightly brushed her cheek before she leaned forward to plant a small soft and caring kiss on her forehead.

She looked at her once more before she opened one of her vest's pockets and took out a small white envelope. She slowly left the envelope on the nightstand next to her sister's bed before she finally walked out of the room.

_-To Hanabi-_

She shoved her hands deep into the warmth of her pockets as she walked through the almost empty streets of Konoha. It was very early, almost half past six in the morning, so there was no wonder that only a few were out at this time.

She passed by the small local shops that had started to open and she greeted some of the people she knew, along the way.

She walked a tad more before she stopped in front of a shop very familiar to her. She hesitated for a moment to go inside but she finally pushed the glass door open and entered the shop.

The light ring of the bell as the door of the shop opened, alerted its owner who came furiously from within the storage room.

"Good morning! How could I help-" Ino's cheerful voice came as she came out of the storage room to help her costumer. Hinata was the last person she expected to see though. "Hinata?" She asked surprised but then smiled.

"Good morning Ino." Hinata replied with something that seemed like a very happy smile. Her eyes gave her away though.

"Hinata! I didn't expect to see you today and that early in the morning at that!" Ino said in a calmer but still happy voice. "So, how can I help you?"

"Could you please make me a bouquet?" Hinata asked gently and Ino giggled.

"Of course! This is a flower shop after all!" She said in with a wide smile. "What flowers would you want?" She asked her but Hinata hesitated to answer for a moment. She raised her eyes to look at Ino and then Ino saw it. That sadness in her friend's eyes.

"White lilies, please." She said and Ino's eyes softened. She stared at Hinata for a moment before she nodded her head.

"Ok. I'll be right back." Ino said softly before she went to make the bouquet. She had forgotten what today was but she always remembered how Hinata would do this same thing every year this exact day.

She slowly tied a dark red ribbon around the lilies and looked at them with heavy heart for a moment before she took them carefully in her hands and got back to Hinata.

"Here you are." Ino said with a smile as she gave Hinata the flowers. "No no no! Don't you dare take out any money and pay for the flowers!" Ino said playfully as she saw Hinata ready to protest with her wallet in hand. She quickly gave up though knowing how Ino would never take the money for the flowers.

"Thank you Ino!" Hinata said with a gentle smile and waved goodbye to Ino before she turned around to leave.

"Oi, Hinata! I almost forgot. We'll gather at the tea house around nine o'clock and Sakura told me to tell you." Ino suddenly said, stopping Hinata in her tracks. "Don't forget to come ok?"

"I'll be there." Hinata replied with a soft smile and left the shop.

She slowly knelt to the ground and set the lilies on the cold stone. She extended her right hand and lightly touched the name carved on the grave, with the tips of her fingers.

_Hyuga Hikari _

_**Flash Back**_

_It was a gloomy day. The sun was covered by the numerous dark heavy clouds that didn't let a single sun raise touch the ground. _

_There were hundreds of people gathered in the cemetery that day, all of them dresses in black and with their heads hanging low. _

_She looked around scared and gripped her father's hand tighter in an attempt to feel safer. Tears gathered in her eyes and with a simple blink of the eye they started running freely down her soft pink cheeks. She wasn't crying because she was scared though. She was crying because she knew what was happening today._

_Hiashi's eyes landed on his six year old daughter before he looked away once more. _

"_Hinata." Hitomi gently called as she knelt in front of her with 1 year old Hanabi in her arms. Even if she wasn't crying at the moment her eyes were red probably from crying the previous night. "How are you my child?" She said as she lightly touched Hinata's cheek with her free hand and brushed some of her tears away. Hinata didn't answer her though. She just shook her head and turned her eyes to the ground._

_She saw as the coffin was slowly lowered to the ground and everyone approached and started throwing white roses on the coffin while praying for the one that died._

"_Hinata" Hiashi suddenly said in a low, serious yet sad voice as his cold white eyes met his daughter's warm light lavender ones and instantly turned his eyes elsewhere. "It's your turn." He said not looking at her. She looked at him for a moment, trying to understand why her father restrained from looking at her. Her heart fell even more but she didn't say a thing. She nodded her head once before she slowly slipped her small hand from within her father's and started walking towards the coffin._

_She clutched the white flower in her hands tightly as she brought it to her chest and closed her eyes as more tears run down her cheeks. She slowly inhaled the flowers beautiful smell and a sob left her lips. It smelled just like her._

_She brought the flower closer to her small face and planted a very light and soft kiss on one of the white petals of the flower, before she opened her eyes. She looked at the white lily once more before she threw it on the coffin._

"_I love you mom." She said under her breath and more tears threatened to run down her face. _

_She turned around and started walking back towards her father when suddenly a shadow moved quickly between the trees on the other side of the cemetery and she saw warm crystal blue eyes looking back at her. A small boy looked at her from behind a tree with eyes filled with sadness. She looked at him from a brief moment before he disappeared._

_She walked to her father and slipped her hand back into his._

"_Goodbye…" She mumbled under her breath. "…mom"_

_**Flash Back End**_

A sad smile graced her lips at the memories. _'Twelve years today…' _She though and a sigh left her lips.

- "Years past quiet fast, right mom?" She said with a bitter chuckle as a couple of tears left her eyes. "I miss you so much but I guess Hanabi misses you the most maybe because she never really had the chance to know you." She said and sniffed in an attempt to hold her tears back. "She has grown up a lot you know. She has started developing to a woman and more than that, she is a great student and kunoichi. I only wish you were here to see her. I'm sure you would be very proud." She said and a watery smile formed on her lips. "Neji became Anbu seven months ago. He was really happy to achieve his goal. Well, we all were. And dad…" She paused for a moment and she couldn't help but sigh. "Well… dad is dad. He will never change." She said in a sad voice and shrugged in defeat and disappointment.

-"You forgot to tell her about you." An old gentle voice suddenly said and Hinata shot her head up at once with surprise clear in her eyes.

- "I don't think it is that necessary." Hinata replied with a sad smile before turning her head to look at her mother's grave again.

- "Really? I think she would love to hear about you as well." Hitomi said as she sat down next to her granddaughter. A long pause followed as neither was able to say something. "I miss her too." Hitomi said after a while and Hinata just nodded her head in response.

Silence fell between them once more and they stayed like this for what seemed hours. It was after thirty minutes that Hinata tried to stand up and leave when Hitomi suddenly grabbed her hand. Her deep purple eyes shone with tears left unshed as she looked at her granddaughter.

"What do you want?" Hinata asked in a sad soft voice. "What do you want from me?"

"I want to talk to you. Please just let me tell you and then I will leave if you want me to." Hitomi pleaded. "Please, just this once. Just this once let me… let me tell you everything. Let me tell you the truth."

She looked at her grandma for a moment, afraid to hear what she wanted to say. She slowly sat down beside Hitomi once more. All she wanted to know was the truth and even if she was afraid, she wouldn't let her chance slip away.

"I'm listening." Hinata said and Hitomi nodded her head.

"What I'm going to tell you starts around three hundred years ago somewhere on the mountains of Faith. There lived a greatly strong clan with the name Hyumashu. One day the clan leader's wife gave birth to two sons, Ryuichi and Ryuu. Everyone including Ryu –the leader of the clan- was very happy with the birth of the two boys but Ryu had to face a very serious problem. He had to choose between his sons about who would be the next leader, his heir. The logical decision would be to choose Ryuichi as the first born he was, but when the time to announce his decision came he just couldn't do it. He couldn't choose between his two sons because he loved them equally. That's when he took a decision he would later regret. He named both his sons heirs and said how they would both lead the clan when the time for him to retire came." Hitomi said and saw Hinata looking at her with great interest. "Winter came and left and the two sons grew up to become great fighters with equal yet different powers each. The Hyumashu clan was renowned for their eyes as they all possessed something no one from outside the clan did. The byakugan." Hinata gasped at this last piece of information. _'The byakugan? But how? How can this be?'_ she thought. She didn't say anything out loud though and Hitomi took it as a sign to continue her narration. "There were two types of the byakugan though. Those who possessed the one type were able to see a long distance and keep their byakugan for a longer time among with their ability to see through objects or the chakra flowing in someone's body. The second type of the byakugan allowed those who possessed it to not just see through objects or the chakra flowing in one's body but it also allowed them to have a great chakra control and see every single detail in something. As you see both types of the byakugan consisted of equal power as those who possessed the one type where able to do things those of the other type couldn't and that also happened the other way round. The two types of the byakugan didn't only give some different powers to those who possessed them, but also different characteristics. Those with the first type usually had brown or dark brown hair and white featureless eyes while those with the second type mostly had dark blue or purple hair and deep purple eyes. Never had it happened for a child to be born with both types of the byakugan even if his or her parents belonged to different types like Ryuichi's and Ryuu's parents did. Even if their father belonged to the first type and their mother to the second, they were not born with the possession of both powers as Ryuichi belonged to the first type like his father and Ryuu belonged to the second type like his mother. When the noble sons became eighteen years old their father, Ryu, became extremely sick and afraid that his death was quickly approaching him, he named his sons leaders. True, Ryu died just a month after this. The two brothers led the clan together for almost five years until everything collapsed. Ryuichi and Ryuu started arguing about who was the strongest and thus begun a war between the different byakuan possessors in the clan with either side claiming that they were stronger. Many died during this war until the two brothers agreed to stop but none of them gave up on his beliefs of being stronger than the other. Two years after the end of this war the clan split in two with the populations of those with the first type following Ryuichi to the Land of Fire and the population of those with the second type following Ryuu to the Land of Steel. Ryuu and the others later settled in Shiwakagure and started a new clan with the name Mashushi while Ryuichi and his followers started a new clan in Konohakagure with the name Hyuga. Does this last name remind you of anything?" Hitomi said and Hinata looked at her with wide eyes.

"That means that my father and… and m-my mother a-and you… and this story but… b-but h-how I-I mean n-nowhere in the history o-of the H-Hyuga clan says something l-like this. I-I don't understand." Hinata shuttered out her response for the first time in two years but she was way too shocked to care about something like that now.

"This story is nowhere in the Hyuga clan's scrolls or books but it is in Mashushi clan's papers. Seems like Ryuichi was so mad with his brother that wanted to destroy every single thing that reminded him of Ryuu. Even his past. Even though this story is not written down by the Hyuga clan, it is passed from generation to generation in an attempt to keep remembering of where they come from. Their roots."

"Why didn't I know anything about it then?" Hinata asked and Hitomi sighed.

"The story doesn't quiet end there my child." She said. "There are more you need to know in order to understand."

"Then tell me." Hinata said in a soft impatient voice and Hitomi sighed yet again.

"I grew up in Mashushi clan and was born with the second type of the byakugan much like everyone else from the clan does. Even though it was highly criticized for a girl to be a ninja, I became a kunoichi and healer despite my father's hurtful words. When I became 17 years old my parents told me that I would marry a man from within our clan with the name Osamu. I denied. I denied not because I thought myself to be too young to get married but because I was already in love with another man. I had met him during a solo mission when I found him half dead in the Woods of Despair. Konohakagure and Shiwakagure were enemies at the time but despite him being from Konoha, I healed him. And then I fell in love with him in only that one week I spend with him till he would heal fully. Everything about him seemed to be made by angels. His caring grey eyes, his short messy black hair, his smile… everything. His name was Iyuzuwa Norio. Your grandpa." Hitomi said with a smile and Hinata smiled too.

"I never had the chance to meet him." Hinata said with a bit sad tone.

"That's because he died many years before you were born my child." Hitomi said as she extended her hand and got some locks of hair behind Hinata's ear. "My family didn't accept your grandpa because he came from a village that Shiwakagure considered an enemy and secondly because he came from a very small clan. I wouldn't listen to a think they said though, and one night I and your grandpa secretly got married. When we went to my parents the next day and told them how we had gotten married, they again didn't accept our relationship and we decided to leave. We came here in Konoha where we lived for around eight years until your Norio died on a mission one day. At the time we had already had a son, your uncle Raiden, who was six years old and I was pregnant with your mother. That means not even your mother was able to meet him. After I gave birth to your mother I decided to leave the village and return back to Shiwakagure. And I did it, although even after eight whole years my parents didn't accept me back. Despite that fact I decided to live in Shiwakagure and raise my kids. As Raiden and Hikari grew up it became evident what their powers where. Your uncle Raiden was a weapons master just like Norio. Not that I hadn't realized that ever since he was still a baby though. He was and exact replica of Norio. Grey eyes, black hair… Your mother was different though, and that always made me wonder what her powers would be. You see, she had my dark blue hair but not my eyes. Her eyes were not purple like mine but lavender. However, when her powers developed I saw that they were exactly like mine and that her eye color was just a mixture of her father's and mine. When your uncle Raiden became 23 years old he decided to return to his father's roots and live as a Konoha ninja. Even if it was kind of hard for me to get separated from my child, I accepted it in the end. With that decision made, we came here in order to speak with the Hokage about Raiden becoming a Konoha ninja and so that I could clean up our old house where Raiden would live. That's when your mother met your father and in the four months we lived here, they fell in love. But when those four months past, I and Hikari went back to Shiwakagure. Two weeks after we left, Hiashi came to Shiwakagure and proposed to Hikari despite the Hyuga clan's refusals."

"But why did they refuse to accept my parents' wedding?" Hinata asked confused.

"They were afraid." Hitomi said with a soft smile.

"Afraid of what?"

"Do you remember what I told you about the two different types of the byakugan and how no kid was ever born with both types?" She asked and Hinata nodded her head. "As you understand, your father possessed the first type of the byakugan while your mother possessed the second. All the Hyuga elders except from Akio, were afraid that an heir produced by the union of Hiashi and Hikari would possess both types of the byakugan. They were afraid that their first born would possess the ultimate Hyumashu power." Hitomi said with a smile.

"But that never happened. They extracted my mother's powers right after her marriage with my father so that they could accept her in the Hyuga clan." Hinata reasoned but Hitomi just shook her head.

"Your mother's powers were never extracted, it was all a lie that Hiashi, Hizashi and Akio came up with in order to protect your mother." Hitomi said and Hinata's eyes widened in shock. "And their fears were later proved to be true 'cause you were born." Hitomi said with a laugh.

"What are you talking about?" Hinata asked with a frustration clear in her voice. "I have no special powers or haven't you realized already? I'm considered the weakest among the Hyugas! I'm not the one of a kind child born with both types of the byakugan! I'm not the one to possess the ultimate power of the Hyumashu clan!" She said angrily and stood up to leave but Hitomi quickly stood up, gently grabbed her wrist and turned her around to face her. She lightly touched Hinata's face with both her hands as she looked into her eyes.

"You are. You are the child everyone from the two clans has been waiting for. You are the one they fear and admire for your strength even though they don't know that the one who'll reunite the two clans has already been born." She said with pride.

"I'm not the one you're describing." Hinata said in a calm sad voice but Hitomi just shook her head.

"You can keep your byakugan activated for a long time. You can see in far distances and precisely see the greatest details. You can see through objects and the flowing chakra in one's body. And last but not least, you have the greatest chakra control in the village that even Tsunade admires for someone as young as you." She said with a big smile. "You've been trying to hide your powers your whole life, afraid to be called different from those around you. You're unique and the Hyuga Elders have started to realize that now. That's why Hideo is afraid of you. You are the only child to have ever had those powers." Hitomi said with pride. Hinata took some hesitant steps away from her grandmother with her eyes filled with sadness.

"I… I don't know. It can't be… It can't be true. I need some… I need some time to think." Hinata said and quickly walked out of the cemetery.

Hitomi's eyes saddened as she saw her granddaughter run out of the cemetery knowing that she hadn't told Hinata the entire truth 'cause there was something even more serious than what she told her today. She turned her eyes towards her daughter's graved and a sad smile graced her lips as a tear stained her wrinkled cheek.

"She is a real knucklehead you know." She said with a bitter chuckle, still looking at Hikari's grave. "Just like you." She said and left the cemetery not realizing that the boy with the crystal blue eyes was looking at them from within the trees the whole time.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Hanabi." Neji called for her to wake up while shaking her shoulder. "Hanabi." He said again for the millionth time that same morning. 'I need more effective solutions here.' He thought and an evil smirk appeared on his face. "HANABIIIII!" He shouted and the thirteen year old genin shot up from bed at once.

"What?" She hissed still half asleep while sending death glares at him.

"It's about time you wake up you know." Neji said with a chuckle and Hanabi narrowed her eyes.

"Fuck off!" She said and fell back on her bed to continue her sleep.

"And since when do you curse young lady?" Neji asked teasingly and Hanabi popped an eye open at that.

"Since I realized that I'll have you over my head for the rest of my life."

"Life sucks, huh?" Neji replied with a laugh and Hanabi nodded her head with her eyes still closed.

"Tell me about it!" She mumbled in her pillows and Neji laughed again.

"So, you aren't going to wake up?"

"Nope!"

"Hmm, it's a pity. Seems like I'll have to eat all the pancakes on my own!"

"Pancakes?" Hanabi asked at once.

"Yep! But you said you were going to sleep…"

"I'm up!" She yelled and shot up from bed at once before she headed to her bathroom to get ready.

Neji shook his head laughing. Hanabi was just so predictable. His eyes suddenly caught sight of an envelope on Hanabi's nightstand.

"Hey, Miss Mischief!" He called her and took the envelope in his hands as Hanabi stormed out of the bathroom.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" She spat angrily.

"This letter was on your nightstand." Neji told her and showed her the envelope, not even bothering to reply to her question. "It says it is for you but it doesn't say who it is it from." He said and Hanabi took the letter from his hands at once. She quickly opened the letter and started reading. "So?" Neji asked in curiosity. "What does it say?"

"It is from Hinata." She said and Neji raised an eyebrow at that. "She says she left early in the morning for some business she had in the village and that we shouldn't be worried." She informed him and threw the letter on her bed before turning around to take a jacket from her wardrobe when she suddenly paused. "Wait!" She said in a semi-shocked voice as she turned around to look at Neji once more. "What date is it today?" She asked and Neji shrugged.

"It's November 22nd. Why?" He said coolly and Hanabi's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my god!"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I'll take a cup of green tea, please." Naruto said to the waiter who nodded in return before he turned around to get the order.

"Since when do you drink tea?" Sasuke asked his friend teasingly.

"Ever since I first met you. I had to find something that would help me with my nerves 'cause you're not the easiest person to deal with you know." Naruto said sarcastically and Sasuke chuckled.

"Seriously now though. You're not one to drink tea." Sasuke said and took a sip of his chamomile.

"He's right you know." Kiba said and Akamaru barked in agreement. "You never drink tea accept when you're sick and we force you to drink some in order to get better."

"I couldn't agree more." Sai in the same monotonous voice as he took a bite of his breakfast.

"You're kidding me right?" Naruto said with a chuckle. "You can't be seriously asking me why I decided to drink tea. I mean… what's the big deal? I just felt like drinking some today that's all."

"You still have those nightmares, don't you?" Sasuke asked coolly and Naruto sighed.

"Nightmares?" Shino asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nightmares can be really troublesome." Shikamaru said with a sigh. "I still have this nightmare from time to time with Gaara and Kankuro trying to kill me in any possible way that human mind can think of."

"The worst nightmare I ever had, was with this enormous hamburger chasing after me to eat me." Choji said while gobbling up his breakfast.

"And what happened in the end?" Kiba asked Choji with interest.

"I ate it!" Choji said with a wide smile as Shikamaru turned his head to look at Naruto.

"What are your nightmares about?" Shikamaru asked him and Naruto sighed.

"I don't have nightmares!"

"But Sasuke said you do." Kiba said with a teasing grin.

"And you believe everything this teme says?" Naruto said with a chuckle as he pointed to Sasuke with his thumb.

"I'm right here you know!" Sasuke said sarcastically and everyone laughed.

"Ok now tell us about this nightmare of yours." Kiba said and Shino nodded his head.

"He's right. We may be able to help." Shino said and Naruto chuckled.

"I doubt that any of you will help get read of these stupid nightmares." Naruto said.

"I didn't know you have nightmares." Neji's said and everyone turned their heads to see him approaching their table among with Lee.

"Sorry to be late." Lee said with a smile as he took a seat next to Choji and Neji sat next to Sasuke.

"Don't worry about it." Kiba said and Choji nodded his head in agreement. "It's not like Naruto came in time." Kiba said with a wolfish grin.

"I wasn't that late." Naruto said coolly as he took a sip of the tea the waiter had just brought him. "And for the millionth time today, I don't have nightmares!" He told Neji who just shook his head in return.

"You are not a good liar you know." Neji said right after he and Lee gave their orders to the waiter.

"I just don't want to think about it, ok?" Naruto said as he turned his eyes to look anywhere but his friends.

"Is it that bad?" Shikamaru asked him and Naruto sighed.

"It is." He admitted. "In my dream, I see someone that I lo-… that I care about and that someone dies right before my eyes while I can't even move and try to help." Naruto said in a low steady voice as his deep blue eyes kept looking at the hard wood of their table. "Everything feels so real that it makes me hurt and after having the same dream for five days now, it has started to get me worried." He took a deep breath while everyone just kept looking at him and not saying a thing.

"Do you think it is a sign or something?" Shikamaru asked and Naruto shrugged.

"I have no idea really. I hope it is not though." He said and took another sip of his tea.

"It could actually be a sign though." Sai said and everyone's eyes fell on him at once. "I once read a book that talked about the importance of our dreams and how they most of the time try to prepare us of what is to come."

"That's stupid!" Kiba said. "Who would believe that dreams are actually some kind of messages? It's pretty damp if you ask me."

"In fact, I agree with Sai." Shino said. "Everyone knows that every single detail in a dream carries a meaning."

"I think that Kiba is right." Neji said. "This dream of yours is probably because you got stressed with all these things that happen lately. That dream is probably nothing but a worry."

"And what if that dream does actually mean something?" Choji said seriously.

"Yeah, don't you think it would be better if you looked it up?" Lee said. "Just to be prepared for everything I mean."

"I think it is just because you need to get laid!" Kiba said with a laugh.

"Shut up!" Naruto said with a chuckle.

"What? It is true!" Kiba said in an innocent voice. "You're still single anyways."

"It's not like you've got a girlfriend Kiba."

"That's where you're wrong mister _I-am-obsessed-with-ramen_!" Kiba said with a laugh. "I have already found someone and she is beautiful!"

"Wait! You have a girlfriend?" Shino said surprised.

"Well she is not my girlfriend… yet. But I'm sure that she'll soon become." Kiba said with a smile. "I met her one and a half week ago. She also has a very beautiful name to match her looks. Her name is Mai!" He said with a wide smile and Neji chocked on his tea.

"Mai? As in Takahashi Mai?" Neji asked in curious voice and Kiba nodded his head.

"Yes, do you know her?" Kiba said and Neji laughed.

"Of course I do. Hitomi grew her up and taught her how to be a ninja and a healer. Mai now helps her out whenever Hitomi needs something." Neji said coolly and Kiba gasped.

"You mean Hinata's grandmother?" Kiba asked in both shock and surprise and Neji nodded his head. "Wow!"

The small bell from the shop's front door ringed alerting Neji who turned his head to see who had come.

"Well, well, well look who's here." Neji said and all the boys turned their heads to see Tenten, Ino and Sakura enter the shop and sit on a table near the entrance and next to the window. 'She's not here.' Naruto thought disappointed as he took another sip of his tea.

"Do you think Hinata will come?" Sakura asked with a worried expression.

"Of course she'll come. I think that after everything that has happened the last three weeks, all she needs is to relax and forget for a couple of hours don't you think?" Ino said.

"It's not like I don't agree with you. It's just that Hinata has gone through a lot lately and maybe she doesn't feel like going out much. Not that I blame her though. I would do the same if I was her." Sakura replied.

"Ino's right. Despite everything that has happened she sure needs to have a little fun and forget about everything even if it is for a couple of hours." Tenten said with a worried expression. "I'm really worried about her you know." She mumbled under her breath and sighed as both Sakura and Ino nodded their heads in agreement.

It wasn't too long after this when the front door opened to reveal a smiling Hinata.

"Sorry I'm late." Hinata said as she approached their table with a smile.

"Are you silly? What are you apologizing for?" Tenten said with a wide smile as Hinata took a seat beside her.

"She's right." Sakura said. "You shouldn't be apologizing for everything you know."

"What would you like drink Hinata?" Ino asked her with a smile.

"A cup of black tea would be just fine." Hinata said softly and Ino gave her order to the waiter. "Sakura?" Hinata called and Sakura turned to look at her at once.

"Yes Hinata?" Sakura said with her always cheerful voice.

"I was wondering. You never told us how you and Sasuke started going out." Hinata said and Sakura's cheeks were stained with a tomato red blush at once before she started giggling.

"Well it was pretty funny really. Sasuke had come to the hospital for the second time during my shift that same day. He had started following me everywhere while I was trying to work and on the same time trying to ignore his flirt. It was while we were walking through a corridor when Sasuke didn't realize that the floor was wet. Needless to say that he slipped, hit his head and needed seven stitches in order to close the wound. It was actually while I was making his stitches that he asked me out and although I was still mad at him, I thought he was too adorable to say no." Sakura said and the rest of the girls giggled.

"Choji chose the jealousy technique to ask me out." Ino said with a smile. "He was coming to the flower shop and buying a bouquet every single day for around two weeks. It was driving me mad seeing him come, pay for the flowers and leave the shop without saying a word while I was left behind thinking of who the girl that stole my friend's heart was. That's when I realized how I truly felt about him and the last day he came to buy flowers I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and kissed him. He then admitted how he had done all this just to make me jealous and tha's when we started going out." She said and giggled. "You should have seen his face when I kissed him. He was so cute!" She said enthusiastically.

"What about you Tenten?" Sakura asked. "How did you and Neji get together?" Tenten laughed.

"That's something you should ask Hinata about." Tenten said and Sakura looked at her dumbstruck.

"Don't freak out." Hinata said with a laugh as both Ino and Tenten started laughing as well. "I spoke to Neji about certain things. That's all."

"You spoke to him?" Sakura asked confused.

"W ell, you know how Neji can be too selfish about the way he feels." Hinata said with a giggle. "I just told him that if he didn't tell Tenten how he felt about her soon, then someone else would probably still her heart and take her from him. You should have seen his face when I said those things to him. Priceless!"

"And what happened next?" Sakura asked with interest.

"The next day he confessed and asked me out!" Tenten said with a giggle.

"What about you Hinata?" Ino asked with a teasing smile.

"What about me?"

"Haven't you and Naruto gone out on a date already?" Ino said and a terrible blush covered Hinata's cheeks at once. Did Ino have to always be that straight to the point?

"W-w-what?" Hinata shuttered and Ino giggled.

"Since when did you start shuttering again?" Ino said teasingly. 'Since you all decided to drive me mad' Hinata thought with a sigh. "So?"

"So what?"

"Have you gone out on a date yet?" Ino asked eagerly as both Tenten and Sakura looked at her impatiently to continue.

"No" Hinata simply said and all the girls groaned in annoyance. Well, it was a lie that they hadn't gone on a date before 'cause those two other times couldn't quiet be called a date. That's because the first time when Naruto grabbed her hand and started running out of the training grounds he later treated her to dinner at Ichikaru's only because he felt bad and when he got her to that waterfall after the Hyuga meeting, it was probably because he wanted to make her feel a little better. So those weren't dates. Or so she thought.

With something like "I told you this baka would screw up!" mumbled by Ino who was most likely talking about Naruto, the girls kept discussing about other kinds of stuff like shopping, missions or what presents they would buy for Kouta's upcoming party while Hinata kept staring out of the window, lost in her thoughts.

She could still remember how his arms felt around her when he hugged her. She could still remember how her heart would race at only the sound of his voice or how her heart would melt at the sight of his deep blue eyes. And then a question would always keep bothering her. Could they really be together? She loved him. She truly loved him ever since she was a child but the question was: Did he love her?

The memory of those crystal blue eyes watching her from within the woods, came to her mind as the words _'I love you' _she heard him whisper to her in something that looked like a dream, kept ringing in her ears as a small smile graced her lips.

"_We believe that the attack was in order to threaten the Hyuga clan…""I want a match between the two sisters…""Nee-chan, I'm afraid…""_ _You're unique and the Hyuga Elders have started to realize that now. That's why Hideo is afraid of you. You are the only child to have ever had those powers…" _

She closed her eyes for a moment in an attempt to regain her composure. 'How am I supposed to deal with all this?' She thought.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He had been knocking on the door of his eldest daughter's room, for around five minutes now but nobody answered.

He knocked on the door once more before opening it only to come face to face with a totally empty room.

He walked a little farther into the room and took a look around. Everything was so quiet, so tidy and so clean as if nobody was living in there in the first place.

Hinata hadn't showed up for breakfast and despite Hanabi's information that Hinata had left early in the morning for some business she had in the village, he couldn't help but worry a bit. With everything that had happened lately he could sense that his child wasn't well. That's why he had been knocking on the door of her room. Because he had hoped she would have returned by now and that they would talk… maybe.

A long and heavy sigh left his lips before he turned around to leave the room when something odd lying on the floor, caught his eye. He walked towards the object and knelt to take it in his hands before he stood up to look at it.

'It is a simple calendar…' he thought with relief and was about to lay it on Hinata's nightstand when the number placed into a large red circle, made him pause.

"November 22nd…" He read under his breath and clutched the calendar tightly in his hands. 'So, that's the business she had to do in so early in the morning.' He thought and his face saddened.

He stayed there for a moment, lost in his own thoughts and memories before he finally exited the room with the calendar still in his hands.

A long dead silence fell in the office as father and son refused to make eye contact with one another.

- "What are you thinking of doing with Hideo?" Akio asked after a while but Hiashi didn't raise his eyes to look at him. "He keeps insisting on a fight between Hinata and Hanabi you know."

- "Then let him insist." Hiashi said coolly. "I have more important things to worry about than Hideo's childish behavior."

- "Hideo is one of the most important members that the Hyuga council has and you know how his opinion matters a lot. I don't say that I agree with him but you know the power of the Hyuga council and how the Hyuga leader can't say a thing about their actions or decisions at times. If the Hyugas vote in favor of this match then I'm afraid that there'll be nothing we can do." Akio reasoned but Hiashi didn't answer right away.

- "I'll find a way to prevent all this." Hiashi said after a while with his eyes still looking intently on the calendar in his hands. Akio didn't say a thing. He knew that something was wrong but waited for his son to speak first. "Even if it's been twelve years, I still can't accept that she's dead. It's just that… she left me and the girls too early. She wasn't here to see them grow up. I…" Hiashi said and Akio's eyes saddened. Silence fell between the two men once more before Hiashi finally raised his eyes to look at his father. "Hitomi thinks it's about time Hinata learnt the truth." Hiashi said in a serious voice and Akio's eyes widened a bit. "And I agree. We've already left a lot of time go to waist."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Ok, we'll get going now Hina-chan!" Tentn said with a sweet smile and hugged her best friend.

"You sure you don't want to come with us?" Neji asked as he wrapped an arm around Tenten's shoulders. Hinata nodded her head.

"Definitely sure." Hinata said with a small soft smile. "I don't feel like going shopping now, anyways."

"What about you?" Neji asked as he turned to look at Naruto who had sat across from Hinata.

"Same here." Naruto said with a light chuckle.

"Ok, see you later you too." Tenten said as she and Neji exited the tea house.

"They look really good together." Hinata sayed still looking at their retreating backs through the glass door before turning her light lavender eyes to look at Naruto. He smiled.

"They look… suitable for each other." Naruto said with his smile never leaving his lips. "I guess it is kind of hard to find your other half."

"You think so?" Hinata asked in a soft gentle voice and a soft pink color stained Naruto's cheeks.

"Y-yeah… I mean… I think they found their other half, don't you think?" Naruto said nervously.

"Yes you're right." Hinata agreed. "But what I meant was if you think it is hard for someone to find his or her other half."

"Yes I think it hard but not impossible." He said as his deep blue crystal eyes stared intently and lovingly into hers. "What about you? Have you found your other half?" He said in a low soft voice and a smile graced Hinata's lips.

"I don't know." She lied. "Have you?

And then they both knew how they had already found their other half in each other's eyes even if they both were too shy to admit it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I'm not going on a mission with her." Kakashi said sternly while sending side glances to the woman beside him

"It's not like you have an option Kakashi." Tsunade said not even raising her eyes two look at the two jonin standing before her as she was too absorbed by her paperwork. "I want this mission done within the next three days and you two are the best to provide me with its success."

"With all the respect Hokage-sama but I don't think that I and Anko would be able to work together. You know how we went on a mission together once more in the past and almost killed one another." Kakashi said in the same serious and stern voice as the woman beside him kept getting madder and madder.

"I don't need respect, I need success. Now go and do not dare come back without fulfilling this mission." She said and raised her head to look at the two. "I'm serious you two. This mission is very important. There's no place for failure here. Now go." She said and the two jonins bowed before exciting the office.

They walked in absolute silence for a while, not even exchanging a word with one another. It was when they reached an empty corridor somewhere in the Hokage Tower when Anko suddenly shoved him hard against the brick wall.

"And since when don't you want to go on a mission with me?" Anko said huskily with her lips too close to his to be considered and accident. Kakashi smirked.

"Since I realized that I can't get my mind from you when you're too near me and when the mission is that crucial I didn't know if I could risk it." He replied in the same husky voice as hers before he pushed his mask down and captured her lips in a hard passionate kiss.

"Yes?" Tsunade said as soon as she heard a knock on the door of her office. The door slowly opened to reveal none other than Uzumaki Naruto.

"Hey there, Obaa-chan" Naruto greeted with a grin and Tsunade shot up her head at once.

"Naruto? Where do I own the pleasure to have you in my office at eleven o'clock in the morning?" Tsunade said surprised.

"I want the keys for the cell Daichi is kept at." Naruto said in a more serious voice and Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"I'm afraid I cannot help you with that." She said and Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"What are you talking about?" He said in anger. "It was just a week ago when we discussed about it and you accepted to let me talk with him."

"Seems like I changed my mind." Tsunade said seriously as she saw Naruto curse under his breathe. She sighed. "Look Naruto, It's just that I don't think it is right for you to see him at the moment."

"Don't you understand? This is a matter of life and death!" He shouted in anger. "You promised!" And indeed she had. He had talked with her about it just before the Hyuga meeting one week before and that conversation he had had with her was the actual reason that he was late for the meeting.

"I understand that it is important but I don't think that you'll make him speak. In fact I don't think you'll be able to even get a word from him." Tsunade said in a calm tone.

"I can make him speak." Naruto said as he lowered the tone of his voice. "I have my way. Just let me try." He pleaded. Tsunade looked at him for a second, rethinking of what she should do. Deciding that she wouldn't losse anything if she just let Naruto try, she opened one of the drawers in her desk and got out a pair of very old iron made keys. "I only hope you know what you're talking about." She said and threw him the keys.

0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0

"I never thought that you would like Mai, Kiba" Hinata said with a light giggle as she walked towards team 8's old training grounds with Kiba and Akamaru by her side. They were planning on going shopping for Kouta's birthday presents but on the last minute decided to do it the following morning in order to have Shino with them. Seems like Shino had to do something more important that morning and knowing how their friend was embarrassed to go shopping on his own, they had decided to just wait one more day. Why they were hiding towards team 8's old training grounds now you may ask. Well, let's just say that Akamaru was way too energetic for him to just sit around doing nothing and that Kiba and Hinata didn't mind using some training at the moment.

"Are you insulting me or something?" Kiba said with a teasing voice as a wolfish grin crept up his face. Hinata laughed.

"No, of course not. Well, I think you two would really look good together and Mai is a great girl. It's just that… I never thought that you two would ever actually get together."

"Well, it's not like we're already together but I hope it will soon happen." He said with a grin. "What about you and Naruto?" Kiba asked and Hinata's cheeks turned red at once.

"Why does everyone keep asking me about this?" She whined and Kiba laughed.

"It's just that you'll be the only single in the Konoha 13 if I get a girlfriend." Kiba said and Hinata pouted.

"That's not true you know, there're still Sai, Lee and Shino so I'm not going to be the only one."

"You're kidding me right? Sai likes Yugao so if he keeps running after her like a dog he'll stay alone for the rest of his perverted life simply because she will keep rejecting him." He said and Hinata laughed while sending him a look that could easily be translated as _'That's mean'_ but he didn't seem to notice. "Shino is waaaaaay too shy to make a move on any girl and Lee… well, Lee is Lee so that makes you the only single among our friends." He said and Hinata shook her head at him as the entered the training grounds.

The kept talking and laughing when Akamaru suddenly barked in alert and Kiba's eyes widened as the fell on the couple standing a few meters in front of them.

"S-Shino? A-a-and H-Hana?" He shuttered, too shocked to form coherent words.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He opened the door of the cell and walked inside, not the least afraid of what he would have to face. He walked a little farther into the cell and stood a few meters in front of the prisoner. The young twenty two year old man slowly raised his head letting the minimum sunlight coming from the tiny window of his cell, hit his face.

Naruto looked at him closely, his characteristics, his movements. He had dark red hair, hazel eyes and a small face making him look younger than his age. His tired hazel eyes turned to Naruto at once when he realized his presence there.

"Seems like prison has had a great toll on you…" Naruto said. "…Daichi. Or isn't this your real name?"

"That's my real name." Dachi said and a groan of pain and tiredness left his lips. Naruto looked at him confused, not knowing what to feel about the young man lying on the floor before him. Pity because of all the torture he probably went through or just ignore it with the thought that this criminal took what he deserved?

"You're a healer." Naruto said or more like stated and a bitter chuckle left the other man's lips.

"More like a killer or don't you know? I make strong poisons with the only purpose of killing people." He said with a bitter voice. It was as if he thought himself guilty for all he had done and now thought that he deserved whatever he was going through. Naruto looked at him for a minute before he finally spoke.

"You seem to have regretted for everything though."

"There's a moment in every person's life when he regrets for all the pain he has caused, all the bad decisions he took and believe me, I have taken many bad decisions." Daichi said and Naruto nodded his head. "What do you want from me?"

"Information." He said and Daichi nodded his head. "What surprises me though is that you seem willing to tell me everything." He said and Daichi chuckled again.

"Is there something I'm going to loose if I tell you everything? Probably not. Let's just say I have my reasons and no it is not a trap." Dachi said.

"When did you enter the organization?"

"You mean the Knights of Death?"

"If that's its name then yes." Naruto said and Daichi took a deep breath before he continued.

"The organization was founded many years ago, even before the Akatsuki. The reason? I have no idea. I attended the organization when I was sixteen which means more or less six years ago." Daichi said.

"Why?"

"I used to live in Kumo and when during a huge attack my parents and older brothers where killed, I was left alone. One the one hand I wanted just a shoulder to hold from and on the other, I wanted revenge. Let's just say that the 'Knights of Death' provided me with both of those 'wants'." He said coolly.

"What exactly did you do for the organization? I mean… what was your role?"

"As you probably noticed, I'm not an excelling fighter like my 'friends' and that's probably the reason why I'm in prison now." Daichi said and took a deep breath as if collecting all the courage he had before he continued. "Ever since I was pretty young, I developed an exceptional talent in poison and drug making while my healing abilities improved day after day." He said. "When I became a member in the organization, the leader discovered this talent of mine and seeing that I had no chance in becoming a fighter, he trained me to become a healer. When my training ended, I got to work."

"By 'I got to work' you mean 'make poisons' right?"

"Yes. I made poisons. Poisons only few could heal someone from. I was quiet renowned about my 'work' actually. The leader being a very talented healer and poisons master himself, always took better care of me in contradiction with the others. He was much like a second father to me until I realized what he was. All he wanted from me were my poisons and when he got enough of them he decided that I was no longer needed." Daichi said and his hazel eyes shone with anger and pain.

"Now I understand." Naruto said and eyes looked at him at once with surprise evident on his face. "That's why no one came to rescue you right?" Naruto said and Daichi lowered his head once more as a small bitter smirk graced his lips.

"I was no longer needed." He said again as if to convince himself. "But that is not me you want to know about, right?" He asked and silence fell around them once more.

"What do you know about the byakugan user that works with the organization?" Naruto said and Daichi shook his head.

"Almost nothing." Daichi said with honesty. "In fact I do not know a thing. Much like our leader, he is very mysterious and nobody has ever seen his face except for the leader. As for his name? I don't have a clue. Both he and the leader used fake names. The byakugan user was always called 'H'. As I said I don't know much about him but there is something I know for sure. He is dangerous. A mere killer." Daichi said and Naruto narrowed his eyes in thought.

"What is his appearance like?" Naruto asked and Daichi stayed silent for a minute as if trying to bring a picture of the man in his mind.

"I haven't seen his face." Daichi said and disappointment became evident on Naruto's face. "But there's something strange about his eyes." He said after a while and Naruto shot up his head in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"His eyes. The're… they're not white. At least not both of them" Daichi said and Naruto looked at him confused. "His left eye is white while his right is deep purple. It's nothing like I've ever seen before." He said and Naruto nodded his head in understanding.

"Why didn't you say all those things to the men that interrogated you?" Naruto said, absolutely confused why had Daichi told him so many things so easily. It was truly strange because ever since he entered the cell, he would just ask him questions and Daichi would answer right away. It would be understandable to say that the twenty two year old man was setting a trap but that couldn't be as in his eyes you could see that he was answering every question with honesty.

Minutes past by and Daichi didn't answer. Naruto looked at him for one last time and sighed before he turned around to leave when suddenly Daichi found his voice.

"I don't have a reason to lie anymore. I realized that when I saw you. I know who you are. I know what you've been through and I felt that a person, who has suffered as much as I did in his life, deserves to know the truth." Daichi said as Naruto looked at him over his shoulder. "I'm in this prison because I'm now paying for all my sins. I told you all of these because I want a favor from you. "He said and Naruto turned around to look at him. He saw as Daichi opened one of the secret pockets in his jacket and took out a folded envelop. "I… I have a friend back at the organization. Someone that feels as trapped as I did when I was there." Daichi confessed as he looked at the letter in his hands. "He once lived in a small village with his parents and little sister. "One day his village was attacked and he lost his parents, much like I did. His sister survived though but he couldn't find her anywhere. He thought she was dead until recently when he found out that she was actually alive but he wasn't let to go and find her. His only information about her was that she lived here in Konoha. When I told him I had a mission somewhere near your village, he wrote this letter and told me to give it to her." Daichi said and took a deep breath before he continued. "During the fight though, the name of the girl written on envelop faded, and the name is no longer retable except for a few letters that can barely help you with a name. I… I hoped that you could try and deliver it for me 'cause as you know I can't do much in here." He said and Naruto nodded his head as he took the letter.

"It will be hard to find her but I'll do it." Naruto said. "Did your friend tell you how she looks like? It would help a lot you know." He said and Daichi shook his head.

"His sister was very young when they separated and she has probably changed a lot by now. But he told me that there was something that would never change on her, no matter how old she gets." Daichi said. "Eyes as sweet as honey. That's what he had told me. I know that it doesn't help much but it is something." He said and Naruto nodded his head. Before he could say another thing though, a loud female voice was heard within the prison as she shouted in agony.

"Naruto! Naruto!"

"Sakura? What's wrong?" Naruto asked as he saw her running towards him.

"It's Shino a-and…. And Kiba." She said breathlessly. "They're fighting. And it is serious!'


	6. Chapter 6: Friends no more!

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OTHER PRODUCTS IN THIS FANFICTION. I **ONLY OWN THE STORYLINE!**

**Here is a rewritten and revised version of a Naruto fanfic I wrote a few years back. Enjoy!**

**p.s. Excuse me fore any stupid errors please!**

**-FairyLullaby**

**Chapter 6: Friends no more!**

She was looking at them. Two bodies crashing one against the other with fierce strength. She could hear them. The wild growls heard within their throats. She could see them. Eyes filled with anger, wrath, hate, betrayal… She could feel it. The pure intention to kill was floating all around them as they kept hurting one another. Tears were endlessly running down her soft pink cheeks but they didn't seem to notice as they kept trying to kill one another. They would punch and kick, fight with all their might. A silver kunai would time from time tear their flesh apart, leaving a deep bloody wound behind but they didn't seem to stop. But she tried to do it. She tried to stop them and she did.

"Shino! Kiba! Please stop!" Hinata said in a trembling yet strong voice, loud enough for them to hear as she tried to push them away from one another. They didn't seem to listen though.

"I'll kill you!" Kiba yelled in total rage as he launched at Shino again. "How could you do this to me huh?" He yelled again as he threw Shino to the ground and started punching him. With great effort Shino managed to throw Kiba off him and stand up again. Blood was coming out from his lips and his black glasses were now lying broken on the ground.

"Restrain yourself!" Shino shouted and Kiba's eyes narrowed even more if that was possible.

"Restrain myself? Restrain my self? How could you do this? You bastard, how-"

"I love her! I love Hana with all my heart!" Shino shouted back and Kiba's eyes widened in both surprise and anger before he launched at Shino again.

"You're lying!" Kiba yelled as he grabbed Shino by the collar of his shirt. "You fucking asshole! If you think I'll let you hurt my sister's feelings then you're damp! How could you hide something like this from me huh? How could you even think of my sister as something other than a friend you moron?" He shouted and threw Shino with extreme force against a tree.

"Shino!" Hinata shouted in agony as she saw her barely conscious friend lying on the ground. She ran to his side at once, bending on her knees next to him. "Shino are you ok?" She asked him as she tried to whip some of the blood away from his bruised face. He nodded.

"Why don't you fight back?" Kiba shouted in rage. Shino raised his eyes to look at his best friend and it was like all those years ago. It was as if he was looking at that small boy with the spiky dark brown hair and the wolfish grin, who always had that small white dog in his hood. It was just like then.

_He walked through the huge gates of the academy and his heart started beating faster and faster. He remembered his mom saying something about anxiety and nervousness, before he left from home and now he could clearly understand what she was talking about. 'First day today.' He thought as he took a deep breath to calm down a bit. He felt his bugs start tweaking the skin of his hands in anxiety while making small noises. He shook his head before lifting the left sleeve of his grey high collared coat._

"_Sshhh…." He said to them with a smile. "You don't want everyone finding out, do you?" He said in a voice lower than a whisper so that nobody could hear him. Seems like he wasn't that lucky though._

"_Who are you talking to?" A curious childish voice said and Shino's eyes widened in shock. He readjusted his round black glasses before he slowly turned around. A small seven year old boy was standing a few meters in front of him. He had unruly dark brown hair and deep brown eyes while two red gangs decorated his face. "So?" The curious boy asked again. "Who were you talking to?"_

"_Nobody!" Shino instantly said and the other boy raised an eyebrow at Shino's nervousness._

"_Why are you so nervous? I don't bite you know." The boy said but Shino didn't answer. Instead he kept nervously playing with his hands behind his back. _

"_Wait!" The boy suddenly exclaimed in surprise and Shino shot up his head at once. "You're an Aburame aren't you?" He said and Shino's eyes widened in shock as his body became as stiff as a statue. "But of course! How couldn't I realize it sooner?" He said with a chuckle and Shino turned around and started walking away much to the boy's surprise. "Hey! Where're you going?" He called after him as he run towards him. He grabbed Shino's shoulder and turned him around to look at him. "Why are you leaving?"_

"_Now that you know from which clan I am, you probably want nothing to do with me, so I'm simply walking away." Shino said coolly and shrugged as if this was something that happened to him everyday. The boy in front of him raised an eyebrow at that._

"_What made you think I would do something like that?"_

"_Well, my clan is renowned for using insects as weapons and people are most of the times afraid of us because the insects live under our skin. Because of that fact, most people are not just afraid but also disgusted of us, calling us bug freaks and many more." Shino said while eyeing the boy in front of him. "So aren't you going to insult me and start running or something?" Shino said and the boy burst out in hysteric laughs. 'I knew that something like this would happen.' Shino thought with a sigh as he turned around to leave again. The last thing he wanted right now was to be humiliated once more._

"_You're funny." The boy said seriously once he had stopped laughing. "I can't understand why you're so ashamed of who you are." He said and Shino stopped at his tracks at once. 'What?' Shino thought in shock. He slowly turned around to look at the boy who was looking at him seriously. "I know what your clan's power is and I think it is pretty cool." The boy admitted with a grin as Shino kept looking at him with wide eyes. Something like this had never happened to him before._

"_T-Thank you." Shino truthfully said and the boy offered him another wolfish grin as he walked towards Shino and stopped in front of him before he extended his hand to him. _

"_My name is Inuzuka Kiba by the way!" The boy said with a wide smile as Shino shook his hand. A small white dog suddenly jumped out of the boy's hood and barked happily, startling Shino. Kiba laughed. "And this is Akamaru. My friend and comrade."_

"_Nice to meet you Kiba…" Shino said and turned to look at the small white dog for a moment. "…and Akamaru." He said and Akamaru barked happily once more._

"_So, that means we're friends now?" Kiba said with the wolfish grin never living his lips and for the first time in years, a true smile graced Shino lips._

"_Yeah… I guess we are."_

He slowly rose from the ground, his eyes never leaving his best friend's

"I don't want to fight you." Shino said calmly but Kiba's rage didn't seem to subsidize at all. But as Kiba tried to land on Shino again, he felt four strong arms restraining him.

"Leave me alone." Kiba shouted in anger as he tried to get free.

"Calm down Kiba!" Naruto warned him strictly as he among with Sasuke tried to restrain their friend from landing on Shino again. Sakura and Ino ran towards Hinata and Shino.

"Damn it, Kiba!" Sakura cursed out loud as she sent a death glare to Kiba. "What have you done to him?" She said as she started checking on Shino's wounds. Ino removed his shirt in order to start healing him and he winced in pain.

"Sorry." Ino said softly as she and Sakura started healing his wounds.

"Are you ok Hinata?" Sakura asked her worriedly and Hinata barely nodded her head, still trembling a bit.

"What happened?" Ino asked Hinata seeing how Shino could barely even move. Hinata opened her mouth in an attempt to start explaining what had happened but a loud yell from Kiba cut her off.

"I SAID LET ME GO!" Kiba shouted in rage.

"I'm not letting you go until you calm down!" Naruto replied angrily and with a growl heard within his throat.

Hinata started trembling even more, not because of the fear but because of the shock. She had never seen neither Shino nor Kiba like that before. She tried to stand up but her legs gave away. She was about to fall to the ground, too weak to even stand up, when two gentle arms held her from falling down.

"Hinata are you ok?" Tenten asked in extreme worry as she helped Hinata stand up properly.

"I-I-I'm f-fine." She shuttered out a reply.

"What happened here?" Neji asked breathlessly as he among with Lee, Shikamaru, Choji and Sai ran into team 8's old training grounds in furious speed.

"Why don't you ask our friends here?" Sasuke said sarcastically as Neji, Shikamaru and Sai came to stand next to them while Lee and Choji went to help Shino.

"Man, you look really bad." Lee said as he looked at Shino and both Ino and Sakura sent him death glares at once.

"Shut up Lee!" They said in unison and a cold chill ran down Lee's spine.

"What did I say?" Lee asked but neither of them answered as they kept healing Shino who was looking better now.

"Kiba is also injured. He has several really bad cuts. He needs to be healed as well." Tenten said and Hinata nodded her head.

"I know. I'll go and heal him." Hinata said as she tried to get out of Tenten's grip but Sakura's voice stopped her.

"You're staying where you are." Sakura said seriously and before Hinata was about to protest, she continued. "You may not be injured but you're not in a good emotional state at the moment. Ino will heal Kiba." She said and Ino nodded her head before standing up and going to help out Kiba.

"But Sakura-"Hinata tried to protest but Sakura cut her off once more.

"Where's Hana?" Sakura asked and Hinata's eyes widened in shock.

"How do you know?"

"I saw what happened here. I know why Kiba is that angry and I was the one that called everyone to come and help." Sakura said and Hinata nodded her head in understanding. "So? Where is Hana?"

"I told her to leave immediately so that nothing worse happened. She didn't want to leave at first but I persuaded her in the end. She also took Akamaru with her." Hinata said and Sakura nodded her head. "H-h-how is he?" Hinata asked worriedly.

"He'll be fine, do not worry." Sakura said and gave her a reassuring smile. Hinata raised her eyes to look at Kiba who was currently denying any help from Ino.

"CAN YOU PLEASE SHUT UP AND LET ME HEAL YOU, MORON?" Ino yelled angrily at him.

"I DON'T WANT YOUR HELP!" Kiba shouted back as he fought against Naruto's and Sasuke's tight grip once more.

"Will someone tell us what is this all about?" Shikamaru asked impatiently as he turned his head to look at Naruto.

"Don't look at me. I don't know either." Naruto replied in a serious voice and Shikamaru sighed.

"LET ME GO! LET ME KILL HIM!" Kiba said as he saw Shino slowly standing up with Sakura's, Choji's and Lee's help.

"K-Kiba, please stop." Hinata pleaded him in a trembling voice and everyone's eyes turned to look at her. Tenten was no longer holding her and she was walking towards Kiba on her own. "P-please stop this." She pleaded him again and Kiba seemed to relax a bit. Seeing that, both Naruto and Sasuke let go of him.

"Give me a reason why I should stop." Kiba said in a very calm voice and everyone saw the hurt in his eyes. Hinata didn't answer, not right away at least.

"They love each other Kiba." Hinata said gently and saw as his body stiffened once more. "They've loved each other for a long time and afraid of everyone's reactions they kept their relationship a secret. Please-"

"You knew about this?" Kiba asked with a sound of betrayal evident in his voice as he took a step towards her. "You knew about this all along?" Kiba asked her, feeling his temper to rise. She didn't answer and tears of frustration started staining Kiba's cheeks. "TELL ME HINATA!" He yelled at her between his sniffs. He didn't just felt betrayed by his two best friends. He didn't just felt hurt. He felt… alone. Hinata started trembling again but she still didn't answer.

"Kiba stop it!" Naruto said angrily, feeling his own temper to rise to see Hinata at this state. Kiba didn't seem to listen though.

"HINATA, TELL ME DAMN IT!" Kiba yelled again and Hinata started trembling even more, unable to say anything.

"KIBA I TOLD YOU TO STOP!" Naruto yelled at him but Kiba didn't seem to notice or care.

"Hinata…" Kiba pleaded. "Please tell me…"

"I knew." Hinata said after a moment. "I knew since the beginning." She admitted with endless tears running down her soft pink cheeks. "They told me. Shino told me. They… they were afraid. They were afraid that if it became known not only you would react badly but that both the Inuzuka and the Aburame clan wouldn't allow their relationship. They trusted me with the secret of their love and I supported them. I supported their love and I still do." She confessed softly and a very soft smiled appeared on everyone's lips. Everyone's except from Kiba who seemed to be in pieces. She looked at him through her tears, waiting for a word but he didn't speak.

"So, you decided to betray me, right?" Kiba said with great hurt evident in his voice and Hinata started shaking her head at once.

"No, no, no… don't say that. I never betrayed you. Neither you nor Shino. How could I? How could I betray my best friends?" Hinata said between her tears as Shino came to stand next to her with his hand around his stomach. "How could I ever betray my… my brothers?" She said but Kiba didn't reply. Instead he kept looking at her.

"Kiba, please Hinata didn't-"Shino tried to say but Kiba's angry eyes met his at once. He walked towards him and stopped only an inch in front of him. Naruto thinking that Kiba might attack Shino again, tried to run towards them but Sasuke held him back, telling him something along the lines 'This is between them. We can't intervene.'

"If I ever see you near my sister again…" Kiba threatened with anger. "…I'll kill you with my own hands. I promise you that." He said and walked out of the training grounds without sparing another glance to his best friends.

"Shikamaru, Choji, please go and try to calm him down a bit. He's not very well right now." Naruto said and Shikamaru and Choji nodded their heads before following the furious Inuzuka.

They saw as he slowly walked away from them. It was quiet stunning how a friend… a brother could turn into your enemy within minutes. The funny fact with the whole situation was that they didn't consider him their enemy. He did consider them his enemies. And for what? Because he was too stubborn to accept Shino's and Hana's feelings. If you told Hinata two hours ago that her 'brothers' would hate one another- If you told her that she would see them fight with the only intention to kill one another- If you told her that their friendship would collapse within a few minutes- she would call you mad.

Shino slowly left her side without making a sound and started walking to the opposite direction Kiba had left only moments ago. Censing as he slowly started leaving, she jerked her head up at once and saw in horror as he walked away from her.

"Shino, where are you going?" She heard Naruto ask him but Shino didn't answer.

"Shino, your wounds are still open. You should go to the hospital, not your house!" Sakura said a bit irritated.

"She's right. Stop being so stubborn!" Ino agreed but Shino didn't seem to care as he walked past them without saying a word.

Neji's eyes fell on Hinata. He saw as his cousin was standing petrified watching both Kiba and Shino leave. And that look in her eyes… She was breaking down.

He saw him turn his back to her much like Kiba had done only minutes ago. He was walking away from her like Kiba. She was between a fight among her brothers and she simply didn't know what to do. She had come up with a situation like this a lot of times in her life. It was not new for her to see those she loved turn their backs on her and leave from her life. She knew it all too well. And now for the first time in her life she would be able to stop it… Maybe…

_She was walking in the garden of her house. The warm sun was lightly brushing her skin and the light summer breeze made her giggle from time to time as it softly crushed her body. She loved days like these. Today was such a beautiful and peaceful day. Her mother was at the kitchen, cooking, while Hanabi was soundly asleep in her room and her father was at his office working as always. Unlike other days, today her father looked very sad and depressed though. He was always so happy and smiling that it was pretty odd to her to see him like that today. She narrowed her beautiful eyes for a moment, not liking seeing her father like that but it was within seconds she forgot about it. Her mom always told her not to worry about matters of the grown ups anyway._

_She heard the door of her house suddenly open and close and she turned her head to see who it was, filled with curiosity as the five year old child she was._

_A large smile graced her small pink lips as she ran towards the man who looked so much like her father._

"_Oji-san! Oji-san!" Hinata shouted with great enthusiasm as she ran towards her uncle who scooped her up in his arms at once. She giggled. She always loved her uncle. He would always play with her and Neji when her father had work to do._

"_Good morning Hime." Hizashi said with a grin that was so un-Hyuga that it would always earn his father's orders to act properly. Act like a Hyuga. Yeah right. Both he and Hiashi had their own opinions about how the clan should be and unlike to their father, they believed in the freedom the Hyugas should be given to act as they wanted, without following those ancient Hyuga rules._

_A light blush stained Hinata's cheeks when she heard her uncle call her by the nickname he and her father had come up with. Even though she liked it, she didn't want to be called that ever since Hanabi was born. She just thought it would be unfair for her little sister if they called her 'Hime' and Hanabi didn't have a nice nickname too._

"_Please don't call me that oji-san!" She said sweetly and Hizashi chuckled. Seems like they were about to start one of Hinata's cute arguments about not calling her by her nickname._

"_Really? Why is that Hime?" Hizashi said innocently as if he didn't know what his sweet niece was talking about even if they had done this same discussion countless times in the past._

"_Well, Hanabi doesn't have a nickname and as long she doesn't have one, I don't want one either." Hinata said soft but determined voice as she supported her baby sister's 'rights'. Hizashi chuckled again._

"_But she has a nickname like you do Hinata."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah!" He said with a smile as he set her on the ground and bent down on eye level with his young niece. "You're our Hime and Hanabi is our Hoshi!" He said and Hinata's face beamed with happiness._

"_I like it!" She said with the cutest smile Hizashi had ever seen._

"_I'm glad you like it Hime!" He said with a smile and ruffled her short navy blue hair affectionately. She started giggling until she saw the huge backpack her uncle was carrying._

"_Why do you have this Oji-san?" She asked him as she pointed at the back pack. Hizashi's smile softened and became smaller but it was still there._

"_I'm going on a mission." He informed her and she nodded her head in excitement._

"_Really? That's pretty cool oji-san!" She said with a grin. "Tou-san always whines about not being let to attend any missions because of being the Hyuga leader but you're very lucky oji-san!" She said taking him by surprise. For a five year old she was truly mature. _

"_Yeah… I am." He said and even if his smile widened, his eyes obtained a sad expression in them. Thank god Hinata was too young to understand it._

_He affectionately patted her head before he stood up. Her smiling large light lavender eyes that were very warm to be those of a Hyuga, were looking intently at him._

"_Good luck, oji-san!" She said with a smile._

"_Thank you Hime." He said and offered her a smile before he started walking towards the gates of the compound. "Hinata?" He said as he stopped only a few feet away from her._

"_Yes?"_

"_Can you do me a favor?" He asked her softly and she eagerly nodded her head. "Can… can you please take care of Neji while I'm gone?" _

"_Of course, oji-san!" She replied with a cute grin and he nodded his head in thanks._

"_Goodbye Hime." He waved at her as he turned around and left._

"_Goodbye, oji-san!" She waved at him with a sweet smile gracing her lips as she saw him walking away. Back then, she didn't know that this would be the last time she would see him. _

She saw him walking away, through eyes filled with tears. She wanted to run and stop him and she did. She lightly grabbed his shoulder and he stopped. She had seen those she loved the most, leave from her life. All those times someone left she wasn't able to stop them. But now she wouldn't let this happen once more. She wouldn't let her _brothers _leave. She wouldn't.

"Shino"

_She happily run into her room, hoped into her bed and covered herself up with her lavender sheets and blankets while giggling the whole time. She heard light footsteps as a young beautiful woman entered her room with her happy laughs echoing throughout the house. She walked quickly towards her daughter's bed and knelt down on the floor beside her bed as she slowly took the lavender sheet away from her daughter's face with a laugh._

"_So, here's where my little butterfly was hiding the whole time." The woman said with a laugh as an angelic smile graced her lips while her six year old daughter couldn't stop giggling. "Time to sleep now Hime." She said gently._

"_But I don't want to sleep just yet, Kaasan!" She whined with an adorable expression all over her face._

"_But you have to sleep Hinata. You won't grow up to become a strong girl if you don't get enough rest." Hikari reasoned but her daughter kept shaking her head in denial. Hikari sighed. Hinata was never a kid to act like this." Ok sweetheart, what's wrong?" She gently asked her child as she brushed her fingers through her daughter's navy blue hair._

"_N-nothing." Hinata shuttered out but before her mother could say another word, a heavy thunder that was heard from outside made Hinata jump up in fear and the tear that started slowly rolling down her cheek probably gave her mother the answer to her questions. 'But of course…' Hikari thought and her eyes softened as she took Hinata in her arms and planted a soft kiss on the top of her head while her hand drew soothing patterns on her daughter's back. 'They had said it was going to rain tonight…' She thought as she shifted her eyes to look out of the window for a moment. It truly was a very bad storm._

"_Do the thunderstorms scare you sweetheart?" Hikari asked her in the most soothing, soft and gentle voice humanity had ever heard. Hinata nodded her head against her mother's chest as she snuggled further into her arms seeking for protection while another thunder stroke making her tear up again. "Sshh, everything will be alright. I'm here with you. I won't let anything happen to you." Hikari said and her eyes saddened as she took a deep breath before she continued. "I promise." She said and Hinata started calming down a bit._

"_Mommy?" Hinata said through her sniffs as her tears slowly stopped. _

"_Yes sweetheart?"_

"_C-can… can you sing to m-me until I fall asleep?" She asked her and a soft smile graced Hikari's lips as she nodded her head._

"_Of course." She said and a small smile creped up her daughter's soft pink lips. "Anything for you Hime." She took the white blanket from the bed and wrapped Hinata in order to keep her warm as she sat more comfortably on her lap and closed her eyes. Hikari hugged her tightly, as if she was afraid that her daughter would vanish from within her arms._

"_Lay down your head  
>And I'll sing you a lullaby<br>Back to the years  
>Of loo-li,lai-ley<br>And I'll sing you to sleep  
>And I'll sing you tomorrow<br>Bless you with love  
>For the road that you go.<em>

_May you sail fair  
>To the far fields of fortune<br>With diamonds and pearls  
>At your head and your feet<br>And may you need never  
>To banish missfortune<br>May you find kindness  
>In all that you meet<em>

_May there always be angels  
>To watch over you<br>To guard you each step of the way  
>To guard you and keep you<br>Safe from all harm  
>Loo-li,loo-li,lai-ley"<em>

_That night, Hinata fell asleep in her mother's arms fro the last time. The following morning, Hikari was found dead among many other Hyugaw that had set their blood during the night of the Hyuga massacre._

"Stop! Where are you going?" She asked him in a cracking voice, still holding tightly on the fabric of his coat. "Why are you leaving? Why are you walking away?" She asked him in exasperation as new tears stained her cheeks.

"Hinata." Shino said, not even turning to look at her. His head was hung low, his eyes shifted to the ground. "You don't have to suffer because of my decisions." He said and she looked at him confused.

"What are you talking about? You and Kiba are my friends and-"

"Go and find Kiba." He said softly. "Tell him that it was all my fault. Tell him that you lied before. That you didn't know about all this. Today, I lost Kiba from my friend. He hates me. You don't have to loose him either." Shino said and a sad smile formed on his lips. "Don't loose him either." He said again as if to convince himself that everything that was happening was not a stupid nightmare.

She slowly loosened her grip on his coat and left her hand rest to her side. She watched him walk away. Once more in her life, she was too much of a cowered to keep those she loved the most close to her. She could have shouted their names, scream on the top of her lungs, do anything to make them stop but she didn't do a thing. Instead she watched her _brothers_ walk away. _'Kiba… Shino…'_ She thought as more tears covered her face. She felt her legs tremble before they gave away under her.

A pair of strong yet gentle and warm arms encircled her before she could hit the ground and even with her blurred vision she could still distinguish those crystal blue eyes looking deeply into her own as he kept calling her name in an attempt to keep her conscious. And as darkness slowly overcame her, she saw as blurred figures of her friends surrounded her. She heard words she couldn't quiet place shouted by Sakura and Ino, Tenten's voice filled with agony, Neji's pleas…

Yet all she could think about was how she was once again unable to keep them from leaving. Because they had left and she had stayed behind, watching their retreating backs.

"_Granny? What are you doing?" She said as she watched the old woman throwing clothes and other personal things into a suitcase. She closed and zipped her suitcase before she slowly turned around to look at her eldest granddaughter. Her old wrinkled face looked even more tired than usually and her deep purple eyes were ghosted with sadness. A small forced smile graced her lips as she tried to seem happy in front of Hinata._

"_I… I'm just making some decisions." Hitomi said and sighed before she sat down on the edge of her bed. Hinata looked at her confused._

"_What decisions Granny?" She innocently asked._

"_Come here my child." Hitomi said as Hinata walked towards her and sat on her grandma's lap. "Tell me my child. What is your opinion about 'the truth'?"_

"_The truth?"_

"_Yes." Hitomi said and Hinata tapped her bottom lip in thought._

"_Well…" She started hesitantly as she shifted her large lavender eyes to look at her grandma. "Mommy always said that 'truth' is a very valuable thing for everyone and that it is important to always speak the truth if we want to be happy." Hinata said and Hitomi looked at her amazed while tears threatened to fall from her eyes at the listen of her daughter. _

"_Yes you are right my child." Hitomi said and sniffed in an attempt to hold back her unwanted tears. "You know Hinata… the truth is that I'm leaving. I'm going back to Shiwakagure." She said and Hinata's eyes widened in shock._

"_What? Why? Please granny, don't leave." Hinata pleaded, her voice filled with fear and panic. "Please, please don't leave. I'll be a good girl, I promise."_

"_Hinata, you're not a bad girl. You're a great girl." Hitomi said and Hinata's fear subsidized a bit._

"_That means you'll stay?" She asked with hope but Hitomi shook her head._

"_I'm afraid this is something I cannot do, my dear."_

"_But why?"_

"_I… I have a lot of matters to take care of back in Shiwakagure." She lied._

"_And when will you come back?"_

"_I don't know." She truthfully said and Hinata's eyes filled with tears._

"_But you'll come back right?" She asked through the soft sobs leaving her lips._

"_Maybe… maybe one day." She said and Hinata hesitantly nodded her head. Hitomi had Hinata sit on the bed instead of her lap, before she stood up and took a hold of her suitcase. She leaned in and planted a soft kiss on her granddaughter's forehead before she slowly exited her room. Hinata stayed there for a while, silent, trying to understand everything that was going on in her life lately before she suddenly stood up and ran after Hitomi._

"_Granny! Granyy!" She shouted but when she was about to reach her, firm hands held her back._

"_She has to leave my child." Akio said as he held his granddaughter._

"_GRANNY!" She shouted with all her might but Hitomi didn't turn to look at her. She didn't spare her a single glance. Instead she walked out of the house, closing the heavy wooden door behind her. "GRANNYYYY!"_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He entered his house and closed the door behind him with great force, alerting his mother in the kitchen. He kicked his shoes off before he walked in the living room and sat down on the couch. He heard slow steady footsteps coming towards him but he didn't turn his head to see who it was.

Tsume entered the living room and saw her son sitting on the couch, lost in his thoughts. She leaned against the wall, with her arms crossed over her chest and took a deep breath before she spoke.

"Where have you been?" She asked him but he didn't answer. "It is almost ten o'clock in the night and you've been missing for more than ten hours now. Can you even imagine how worried I was?" Tsume said with anger building up in her voice.

"I was out." Kiba simply said, without even turning to look at her. Tsume shook her head as a sigh left her lips. Silence fell between mother and son before Tsume finally spoke:

"Hana told me what happened."

"I don't care." Kiba said in a low calm yet sad voice that drove Tsume mad.

"You don't care?" Tsume raised the tone of her voice. "Since when does an Inuzuka turn his back on his friends?" She asked him in rage but Kiba didn't seem to listen or care as he stood up and walked out of the living and towards his room with his mother following right behind him. "Kiba! I'm talking to you!"

"And I do not want to listen!" He replied in anger as he pushed the door of his room open and walked inside.

"Your father would be ashamed of you!" She shouted at him and he instantly stopped in his tracks. His eyes widened a bit at his mother's hurtful words. For a moment it was as if time had stopped. This was the last he had expected to hear at the moment. He had expected his mother's anger or his sister yelling at him but no something like this. He slowly turned around and his ghosted with sadness and anger eyes met his mother's for the first time that night.

"W-what?" He said in a low filled with hurt voice as his deep brown eyes never left Tsume's. Tsume didn't answer though. She kept looking at her son without speaking a word. She knew that what she had told him had most probably hurt him greatly but she didn't have a choice. He needed to understand that what he was doing was wrong. She slowly opened one of the pockets of her vest and took out a small old picture. She looked at it for a moment and a sad smile graced her lips as her fingertips touched the frame of one of the two men on the picture. A man she lost many years ago. Her eyes met her son's again before she extended her hand to give him the picture. Kiba looked at her dumbstruck for a moment before he hesitantly took the photo and looked at it. It was a very old black and white photograph but you could still clearly see the two men pictured on it. They were outside the Hokage tower, with wide smiles on their faces.

"Do you recognise them?" Tsume's soft voice echoed in his ears.

"How?" was the only thing he said as he looked at her once more.

"Your father and Shino's father were in the same team ever since they were small children. Except for comrades though, they were also best friends." She said and Kiba's eyes widened in shock. "Toru and Shibi were truly close until… until your father died on that mission fifteen years ago." She said and took a deep breath as if to gather all the courage she had before she continued. Seems like fifteen years where not enough to talk about your husband's death in front of your son. "Toru and Shibi were assigned together on that mission to deliver an important message of the Third. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until Kumo ninjas attacked." She said and a long sigh escaped her lips. "Shibi tried to save your father but when they came back to the village, it was already too late."

"Why didn't you ever tell me about this before?"

"Shibi thought himself responsible for your father's death. He thought that if they had arrived earlier then your father would be alive." Tsume said with her eyes never leaving her son's. Kiba could clearly understand everything now. Shibi always treated him as if he was his own son.

"When you and Shino became teammates, I knew it was something more than just a coincidence. When you two became such close friends, I knew for sure that it was fate." Tsume said with a soft smile. "Don't do this son 'cause all you'll have in the end is regret for loosing two great friends."

"The fact that my father and Shibi where friends doesn't change a thing." Kiba said in a serious voice laced with anger once more. "I won't let an ass play with my sister's feelings." He shouted. "And do you know what the worse aspect of the whole situation is? That even Hinata knew about it and didn't say a thing. They were all playing their game behind my back!" He shouted once more and Tsume shook her head.

"Think well of what I told you Kiba." Tsume said softly before she exited her son's room and closed the door behind her.

The old photograph fell from Kiba's trembling hand as he sat on his bed. Another photograph laying on his nightstand beside his bed caught his eye. He took the frame in his hands and looked at the people pictured on the photograph. There was he grinning from ear to ear, Hinata with a small happy smile on her lips and an always serious Shino who in that photo had chosen not to wear his hood or his glasses for some reason. They were all hugging a heavily pregnant Kurenai who was sitting on a chair between them. A small smile threatened to form on his lips but he held it back. He could clearly remember the day this photo was taken. It was a few days before they had departed for the war. Hinata insisted that they took a picture as team eight. She hadn't admitted it back then but he knew why she had wanted this picture. She thought that if any of them died during the war, there would be a momento for those who had made it through the war alive. Something that would remind them how team eight once was. In truth, all four of them wanted the picture for the same reason.

His heart ached at the thought of his friends. It hurt him to think about his fight with Shino or how Hinata was slowly breaking down with their fight. All he wanted to do was run to them and ask for their forgiveness. Then their betrayal would come back to his mind and he would be angry again.

"_No, no, no… don't say that. I never betrayed you. Neither you nor Shino. How could I? How could I betray my best friends?_ _How could I ever betray my… my brothers?" "I don't want to fight you!" "Since when does an Inuzuka turn his back on his friends?" "You father would be ashamed of you!"_

He threw the frame against the wall with extreme force and heard as the small pieces of glass hit the carpeted floor of his room.

He turned his head to look at the beautiful moon outside his window. Tears stained his cheeks as he let out all of his frustration. He lightly touched the black bracelet with the five silver letters that formed the word _'Hachi'_, around his right wrist. 'Hinata… Shino…'

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He winced in pain as his mother cleaned his wounds on his chest and arms.

"Go easy on him Chouko." Shibi said as his wife kept cleaning their son's wounds and to be honest she was more than just mad to see her son in such a mess.

"Really? Why should I go easy on him? Look at your son Shibi. He left this morning healthy and returned a mess!" She said in anger as she started covering Shino's wounds with bandages. "I can't believe you got into a fight."

"I didn't get into a fight." Shino lied with his voice being serious like always. Shibi shook his head at his son's ridiculous lie. Shino should have known better than to lie to his mother. It would only make Chouko angrier.

"Oh yeah? And what are all these scars for? You woke up this morning and decided that you'd start a collection of wounds all over you body?" Chouko replied in rage as she finished bandaging his right arm and shoulder.

"I don't want to talk about it right now." Shino said and turned his eyes elsewhere as Chouko stood up and glared at her only son. Before she could say a thing though, Shibi beat her to it.

"Chouko, can you leave me and Shino alone for a moment?" He said softly and Chouko nodded her head.

"Don't think that this is the end of our conversation young man. I'll be waiting for an explanation first thing tomorrow morning." She said before she exited Shino's room, leaving father and son to talk in private.

"Mom is really angry, isn't she?" Shino said as he made himself more comfortable on his bed.

"Yes she is." Shibi admitted and Shino chuckled.

"Shino-"

"Dad, I really don't want to talk about it." Shino said before his father could even finish his sentence.

"You fought with Kiba, didn't you?" Shibi said and Shino nodded his head. "Did he find out about you and Hana?"

"Yes."

"I had told you that this would happen sooner or later. You should have told him son."

"I know." Shino said and sighed. "He's not just angry with me though. He found out that Hinata knew about me and Hana. He thinks she betrayed him for not telling him anything."

"That's bad."

"It is." Shino admitted. "Dad, could you please leave? I really need some time alone at the moment. There are lots of things I have to think about." He said before Shibi could ask to know anything else.

"Ok" Shibi said. "Have some sleep son. You need to get some rest 'cause the days that'll follow won't be the easiest for you." He said before he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. Shino looked at the photo of him, Kiba, Hinata and a pregnant Kurenai, on his nightstand before he turned to look at the bracelet on his right wrist. _'Hachi' _'Eight…' he thought as another sigh left his lips. 'I wonder for how long we'll remain as team eight… Probably not for much longer…'

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Tenten looked at her best friend once more before she closed the door of her bedroom and walked towards the living room. Two pairs of eyes fell on her at once when she entered the living room. She took a seat on the floor between the two young men and sighed.

"How is she?" Naruto nervously asked her. Tenten looked between Naruto and Neji for a moment before she sighed again.

"Asleep." She said and the two young men nodded their heads in understanding.

"Are you sure it'll be good for her to stay here the night?" Neji asked his girlfriend.

"Yes, I'm sure. After everything that has happened, Hinata needs to calm down and I don't think that the Hyuga compound with Hiashi, Hitomi and that crazy Hideo, will help her feel better." Tenten said and offered her worried boyfriend a soft smile. "Why don't you two go and get some rest? Sakura said that Hinata won't wake up till tomorrow morning and you two seem so tired that you'll probably collapse any minute now." Tenten said teasingly and both men chuckled.

"Ok." Neji said and kissed his girlfriend before he stood up. "Come on Naruto." He said and Naruto nodded his head before he stood up as well.

"Tenten…if anything happens, come to me immediately even if it is in the middle of the night. Ok?" Naruto said and Tenten nodded her head. 'He really does love her.' She thought and smiled as the two men exited her apartment.

She walked into her bedroom where she found Hinata sound asleep on her bed. A sad smile graced her lips as she covered her best friend with a blanket in order to keep her warm. She knelt on the floor beside her bed and watched as she slept.

"Everything will be fine. You'll see." Tenten whispered and a crystal tear started rolling down Hinata's cheek. 'She's crying in her sleep.' Tenten thought and sighed as she brushed away Hinata's tear.

Her eyes caught sight of the small black bracelet with the silver letters on Hinata's right wrist.

"Hachi…" She read under her breath. 'Eight…'

Naruto and Neji kept walking through the dark streets of Konoha without speaking a word. They both had many things in their mind and to say they were worried was the least.

"I'm so going to kill those two." Naruto mumbled under his breath but in the dead silence of the night, Neji had heard him.

"I couldn't agree more." Neji said and Naruto nodded his head. "I don't think their argument will end any time soon though. Kiba is very angry."

"I know." Naruto said and sighed as he ran a hand through his golden hair.

"She'll be ok."

"I hope you're right." Naruto said and silence fell between the two friends once more. "I talked with Daichi." He said after a while and they both stopped walking.

"When?"

"A few days ago. The news are not very good though." Naruto said and Neji raised an eyebrow at that.

"What do you mean?"

"Hideo is not the masked byakugan user." Naruto said and sighed.

"_I don't understand why you wanted to talk to me that urgently." Neji said as he took a sip of his tea._

"_There's something very important we need to discuss." Naruto said._

"_And you think that the tea house is the proper place to discuss that 'very important' matter?" Neji said with a chuckle._

"_I heard what you and Ibiki discussed." Naruto said or more like stated and Neji chocked on his tea._

"_What?" Neji asked in shock. "What did you hear?"_

"_Everything." Naruto said in a serious voice. "I was wondering. Is there anyone in the Hyuga clan you're suspicious about being the masked byakugan user? From what I remember, Ibiki said that this man was not a missing ninja but someone within the clan. Anyone in mind?" He said and Neji looked at him while trying to think of someone._

"_There's someone. I'm not sure but he has always been very suspicious and distant. Even Hiashi despises him." Neji said after a moment and Naruto nodded his head._

"_His name?"_

"_Hideo."_

"Are you sure?" Neji asked him troubled. Naruto was the only one other than Ibiki or himself that knew about the existence of the masked byakugan user. Not even Hiashi knew anything.

"Daichi said he hadn't seen his face, only his eyes." Naruto said. "But his eyes were different from those of Hideo's. The man had a white and a deep purple eye."

"I see." Neji said with disappointment evident in his voice. They had to find that man as quickly as possible. They have been having a snake within them and they have to find it before it bites anyone. Before he harms anyone. "Damn it." He cursed under his breath. He saw as Naruto turned around and started walking towards the direction of his apartment. "Naruto?"

"I'll find him." Naruto said in a very serious voice, not even turning to look at Neji. "I'll find him even if it means I die." 'I won't let him harm Hinata.' He added in his mind.

He entered his apartment and closed the door behind him. He walked towards his wooden desk on the other side of his small living room, not even bothering to turn on the lights. He sat down at his desk and lit up a candle as he opened one of the drawers and took out the envelop Daichi had given him.

He threw the envelope on his desk and took his magnifying glass in hand.

He looked at the back of the envelope where a full name was once written. He looked closely at the barely readable letters.

"M…I… KA…H…SHI." He read under his breath. "Damn it! That doesn't make cense!" He cursed. 'How am I supposed to make out a name from those letters. Half the name is not retable at all." He said and sighed. "What am I going to do?"

"_I… I hoped that you could try and deliver it for me 'cause as you know I can't do much in here.""_ "_It will be hard to find her but I'll do it."_

"I can't give up now. I promised him that I would find her and I will!" He said and continued working on the envelope. It would be a long night.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

_She was sitting under the large shade of an oak tree within the academy yard. It was a peaceful early spring morning. Children of all ages were running, hopping, laughing…_

_A small smile graced her lips for the first time in months. She didn't really know why but she felt happy. She felt at peace. _

_She opened her bag and took the silver kunai her father had given her when she entered the academy three months ago._

_She liked the academy a lot even if she didn't have any friends. Ever since her mother died, Hinata had closed a lot to herself and letting her shyness take control she never really gave the chance to those around her to approach her. _

_She brought the silver kunai closer to her face to look at it better. She wasn't a good fighter as there were always other children better than her. Her father would always be angry and most of the times he didn't even speak to her whenever she would loose a match against her sister or classmates/ To say she was sad, was the least of what she was feeling._

_Her grip tightened around the kunai. She had to be stronger. She had to make him proud. She wanted to be strong like her father and gentle like her mother. That's what she had told Iruka sensei when he asked her what she wanted to be like when older._

"_Look! It is that worthless Hyuga Heir again!" A boy said with a laugh as he and two other boys approached her._

"_You're right, Kazuo!" The other boy said. "Unlike the other stupid Hyugas, she is not just stupid but weak as well."_

"_How pathetic." The third boy said with a smirk. "Kazuo, Kei, how about we teach this brat a lesson?" He said and Hinata's eyes widened in shock and fear._

"_What a great idea, Naoki." Kazuo said and with a quick move caught Hinata by the collar of her shirt and shoved her hard against the tree. A groan of pain left her lips and the silver kunai slowly fell from her hand._

"_Aww, seems like the worthless heir is in pain-"Kei said but before he could finish his sentence, someone else beat him to it._

"_Leave her alone!" Kiba shouted and the three boys laughed._

"_And what id we don't leave her alone?" Naoki said with a smirk. "What will you do then dog boy?"_

"_You'll pay for it." Shino said coolly as he walked to stand next to Kiba._

"_Oh, now I'm scared!" Kazuo sarcastically said, still holding Hinata against the tree. Before he could say anything else though, Kiba punched him hard in the stomach and he fell on the ground._

"_You bastard!" Kei shouted as he landed on Kiba but Shino kicked him and threw him away before he could hurt his friend. Kiba and Shino shifted their angry eyes to look at Naoki who was trembling in fear a couple of meters away from them. _

"_Ok! Ok! We give up! We are sorry… really sorry!" Naoki shouted in fear as he helped Kei and Kazuo up and they all run away._

_Kiba and Shino burst into hysteric laughs to see the three little bullies run away in tears. You didn't see things like these every day. It was quiet fascinating. They turned around and saw the small girl still on the ground and trembling all over in fear._

"_Are you ok?" Kiba asked in worry as he helped her up._

"_You're not hurt are you?" Shino asked her coolly and Hinata shook her head._

"_N-no, I… I am f-fine t-thank y-you f-for saving m-me," She shuttered out and Kiba nodded his head with a large grin._

"_That's nice to hear." He said. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba and this boring guy next to me is my best friend Shino." He said and Shino sent him a death glare from behind his black glasses._

"_Nice t-to m-meet y-you both. I'm H-Hyuga Hinata!" She said with a smile._

She slowly opened her eyes as the few sun raises coming through the half closed white curtains, woke her up. She rose from the bed and kicked away the blankets with a groan of discomfort and tiredness leaving her lips. The funny aspect of the whole situation was that even if she had slept for over than ten hours, she still felt exhausted. She sat at the edge of the bed and brushed her eyes in an attempt to get rid of her tiredness.

She shifted her eyes to look around the room she was at and a long sigh left her lips as the events of the previous day came back in her mind.

She stood up from the bed and walked towards the window. She opened the white curtains and instantly closed her eyes, blinded by the strong morning sun. The weather was really strange to be honest. It was November 26th and the weather reminded you of spring and not of winter.

She leaned against the window frame and looked outside. People were walking with smiles on their faces as they started another day of their perfect lives. Her eyes fell on three children –a girl and two boys- playing a little further. She turned her head to look elsewhere before she walked away from the window and sat on the bed again. They seemed so happy and seeing them, reminded her of herself when she was younger although she was sure that those three little children had better childhood years than she did.

She looked at the small bracelet around her right wrist and touched the silver letters with the tips of her fingers. She took a deep shaky breath in an attempt to hold back her tears. What would she do without Kiba or Shino?

She stood up from bed again but this time she walked out of the bedroom and towards the kitchen.

Tenten was cooking –or tried to cook- much to Hinata's surprise. Let's just say that Tenten wasn't the best cook there is.

"Good morning Tenten." Hinata said softly and Tenten's warm brown eyes fell on her best friend at once.

"Good morning Hinata." She said in a cheerful voice as she kept trying to make an omelet that not even Akamaru would dare to eat.

"Did a bomb explode in your kitchen or something?" Hinata said with a weak laugh and Tenten giggled.

"More or less." Tenten said but stopped giggling when Hinata took the pan from her hand. "What are you doing?" She asked surprised as Hinata threw the omelet in the bin and started making a new one.

"Making breakfast!" Hinata said with a gentle smile. "We both know that you're not the best at cooking Tenten." Tenten giggled again.

"Thanx Hina." Tenten said and hugged Hinata before she sat on the kitchen counter and watched as her childhood friend did miracles in the kitchen.

"I can't understand how you do it." Tenten whined cutely. "You should really teach me how to cook Hina. I once cooked something to Neji and he was throwing up for four hours. I can't understand how he kept his calm back then." She said and another weak laugh left Hinata's lips.

"My cousin loves you way too much to be mad at you." Hinata said and Tenten giggled.

"I know. I love him very much as well." Tenten said with a smile and silence fell between the two friends.

"Tenten… I… I'm sorry for being a burden. You… you know… for yesterday. I can't believe I fainted." Hinata said softly and a small sigh left Tenten's lips.

"I can't believe you just said that right now. You are never a burden Hinata. And I mean it… n-e-v-e-r!" Tenten said. And silence fell between them once more. It was after what seemed to be hours, that Hinata spoke again.

"You know… I can't help but think that… that now I understand Sakura more than… more than ever before. When Sasuke left the village and he and Naruto became enemies, Sakura was left between them… trying to save what was left from their friendship. She was watching as the most important people she had in her life, tried to kill one another. Back then I knew she was sad and… and desperate to have team 7 back together as they once were. Back… back then when… when they asked us whether we shall kill Sasuke or not… I among with everyone else decided that it would be better to kill him. I thought that… that it would not matter any more because he was already an enemy of Konoha and that we had to do everything it takes to protect our village. I… I thought that Sakura would understand it. I thought that she would accept it with the years. When I saw Kiba and… and Shino fighting like that yesterday I… for the first time I realized how Sakura must have felt back then. They were trying to kill one another. My brothers." She said with tears running down her eyes. Tenten hopped off the kitchen counter and hugged Hinata at once, holding her tightly as she sobbed.

"Shh… everything will be alright. You'll see."

He slowly opened his eyes as he felt someone licking his face. A small smile crossed

his face as he ran a hand through the white fur of his dog.

"Good morning, Akamaru." Kiba said and patted his head lightly before he got up from his bed. He was wearing his clothes as he hadn't even bothered to change the previous night. He went to his bathroom and quickly washed his face before he and Akamaru got down the stairs, past the kitchen and out of the house.

"Kiba?" Tsume mumbled when she realized that her son was awake. She quickly run out off the kitchen when she heard the front door open and close. "Kiba!" She called louder as she ran and opened the front door. She watched as her son walked towards the Inuzuka residence's front gates with Akamaru by his side. She leaned against the door frame looking at him. His head was hung low, his hands in his pockets and Akamaru barking beside him in an attempt to get his attention. She didn't like to see her son like that. She wanted to call him or ran after him, hold him in her arms like she did when he was small, and let him cry until he had no more tears to set. Last night, she had said some pretty hurtful things to him but at least she hoped that he had understood how wrong he was. 'Kiba… my son…'

For the first time in his life, the black glasses he would always wear seemed to be of some use. They could perfectly hide the dark bags under his eyes. He looked himself in the mirror. He hadn't slept all night.

"Shino! Breakfast's ready." His mother called him from downstairs.

"Coming." He said loud enough for her to hear before he shifted his eyes to look at the bracelet around his wrist.

"_W-what a-are these, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked softly. Kurenai smiled as she gave a small red box to each one of her three students._

"_Yeah! What are these, sensei?" Kiba said as he kept look at the small box weirdly. Kurenai laughed._

"_Are they presents?" Shino asked her before she could reply to either Hinata or Kiba. She nodded her head._

"_Yes they are presents." Kurenai said as she looked at her three ten year old students._

"_R-really? P-presents f-for us?" Hinata asked surprised and Kurenai nodded her head once more with a beautiful smile on her face._

"_Yes. Those are my presents for you." She said as the three teammates started opening the small boxes. "You are the new team eight. Each one of you is special and the bond you share is unique thus I thought I should take you something special that'll represent that bond."_

"_Wait! Is that-" Kiba tried to say but Hinata beat him to it._

"_I-it is b-beautiful Kurenai-sensei." Hinata said softly as she took the small black bracelet with the silver letters in her hands._

"_Hachi." Shino read._

"_Eight…" Kurenai said and the three students nodded their heads with smiles on their faces._

"_We're team eight." Kiba said softly under his breath and his smile widened._

"_We're team eight." Hinata agreed without shuttering a single word._

"_We're team eight." Shino said like his two friends as he wore the bracelet around his wrist. '…and we will always be team eight.' They all added in their minds._

He slowly left the bracelet next to the sink, his eyes never leaving it. He had never taken it off before, maybe because he hadn't needed to. 'Seems like we'll not always be team eight…' He thought with a heavy heart before walking out of his bathroom.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She was walking through the busy streets of Konoha. She had told Tenten that she would go back to her house but she didn't want to just yet.

She heard a very familiar bark coming from a few feet behind but she didn't turn to see who it was afraid that it was all a game of her imagination.

"Akamaru! Where are you going? Come back here!" She heard Kiba shout and she immediately turned around to see a huge white dog running towards her.

"Akamaru." She said softly and a weak smile graced her lips as she bent down on her knees and hugged Akamaru, who barked happily in return. She shifted her eyes to see Kiba standing only a few meters in front of them. "Kiba?" She called softly as she looked at his sad face. His eyes were looking anywhere but her. "Hi…"

"Hi…" He said softly. An uncomfortable and awkward silence fell between them as neither wanted to speak. "Sorry but we have to go. Come on Akamaru." Kiba said after a while and Hinata's face saddened. Akamaru barked with what seemed to be a whine as he walked towards Kiba who turned his back on Hinata and was about to walk away when…

"Kiba wait!" She said and for the first time that same day, he turned to look at her. "Could… could we please talk? Just for a moment… please…." She said and he hesitantly nodded his head.

"I didn't expect you to come and visit me so soon. Did you miss me or something?" Daichi sarcastically said and Naruto laughed.

"I brought you something to eat." Naruto said as he laid a lunch box in front of Daichi. "Guess the food here isn't that good is it?" Daichi laughed.

"It is a prison, not a five star hotel. The food here sucks." He said. "Why are you being that nice to me anyway?"

"It is just like what you told me yesterday." Naruto said as he sat beside him on the floor of the cell. "You and I are very alike. I can understand how it is like to feel like a prisoner your whole life." He said and Daichi nodded his head as he opened the lunchbox and started eating.

"Thanx for the chains by the way." Daichi said. "They came and removed them from me yesterday. They said that it was your order to do so." He sad and Naruto laughed.

"It was nothing really. I just thought how uncomfortable they must have been and how I wouldn't like to have them If I were in your position." Naruto said and Daichi nodded his head in understanding. "I had a look at the letter you gave me, last night." He said and Daichi stopped eating and looked at him with great interest. "I tried to find the name but it was kind of hard. I guess it'll take some time."

"That's understandable." Daichi said and started eating again.

"Daichi?"

"Hm?"

"Is there a girl you love?" Naruto asked and Daichi's face saddened. He laid his unfinished lunch beside him before answering.

"There was." He said. "Her name was Akane. It was during a mission when I met her four years ago. I was eighteen then. She was beautiful, with long red hair and warm brown eyes. I fell in love with her from the first time I saw her. You can call it love from first sight." He said with a sad smile gracing his lips. "I loved her very much and even if she knew the monster I was, she loved me too. I would always give her roses. Red roses like her hair and beautiful like her soul. My Akane…"

"What happened?"

"Remember what I told you about my leader yesterday? How I one day realized what he really was?" He said and Naruto nodded his head as a sign for him to go on. "He killed her." Daichi said and Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "From that day and on, all there was in my heart was hatred. The man that I admired was suddenly the murderer of my only love. He had said it was for my own good. He said he had done it so that there were no disruptions for me. So that I could focus on my goal. What a monster." He said and quickly brushed away the tear that had started rolling down his cheek. "I wanted to marry her. Have children with her but he took everything from me." He said and silence fell between them for a moment.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Daichi said with a sad smile. "I'm sick and tired of people pitying me."

"Heh, I know how you feel."

"What about you?"

"What about me?

"Isn't there a girl you love?" Daichi said and a smile slowly crossed Naruto's face.

"There is." He said softly and Daichi smirked.

"What's her name?"

"Hinata…" Naruto said with his smile never leaving his face.

"You seem to love her a lot."

"More than you can imagine." Naruto said and a small laugh left his lips. "It's funny… you're the first I've told about this."

"Really?" Daichi asked him surprised.

"Yeah… even if my friends have realized it, I never really admitted anything. Not even to my best friend…"

"How is she like?"

"She is an angel with every meaning of the word. She has the beauty and the heart of an angel. I don't know what I would do without her." Naruto confessed. "I'd die for her and I wouldn't mind it at all if my death meant that she would live." He said and turned his head to look at Daichi. "I love her."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

They sat at the far end of the tea house, not exchanging a single word.

"What would you like me to get you?" The waiter politely asked.

"I would like a chamomile please." Hinata replied softly.

"What about you sir?"

"Nothing." Kiba said with a cold voice that scared the waiter to no end.

"O-ok sir. I-I'll be right back with your order miss." He said and quickly walked away. Hinata shook her head at Kiba's attitude.

"Did you really have to be that rude to him? He didn't do anything to you." She said softly and Kiba narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not here to drink tea. You said you wanted to talk. So? I'm listening." He said with his voice baring no emotion. She sighed.

"I wanted to talk about what happened yesterday." She said and it was his turn to sigh.

"What about yesterday?"

"How long will you have your argument with Shino going on?" Hinata asked him gently and his eyes narrowed even more if that was possible.

"Forever."

"Kiba-"

"Look Hinata. I can't understand how you thought that you could talk me through this. I and Shino are no longer friends and we will never be friends again." Kiba said in an angry tone.

"Kiba-"

"Look… this argument is between me and Shino. Yes, I was angry with you yesterday because you didn't tell me a thing about his relationship with Hana but I'm willing to forget what you did if you just take my side." Kiba said a bit calmer.

"I can't believe you just said that. " She said with anger building up within her. "How can you tell me to choose between you and Shino?"

"You can't understand!" He said in anger as he stood up from his chair, his eyes never leaving Hinata's.

"Yes, you're right. I can't understand. "She said with equal anger as tears welled up in her eyes but she held them back. "I can't understand how you became like this! I can't understand how my _brother_ became like this!" She said and Akamaru barked in an attempt to stop them from arguing. Now everyone's eyes were on them. She saw as Kiba took his bracelet from around his wrist and threw it with force on the table they had sat at. "What are you-"

"When Kurenai-sensei gave those to us she said it was something that'd represent our friendship and team. Guess there're none of those two anymore, right?" He said with hurt evident in his eyes. He looked at her one last time before he turned around and walked out of the shop with Akamaru right beside him. She slowly extended her hand and took the bracelet Kiba was wearing until only moments ago. And she didn't care that everyone was looking at her as she let the tears run freely down her cheeks. Not sobs or sniffs… just tears and grief.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He walked furiously out of the tea house and through the crowded dtreets of Konoha with Akamaru barking beside him to stop.

He was so angry and walked so quickly that he totally forgot the wound on his left leg until the wound reminded him of its presence.

He clutched the fabric of his pants over the wound and groaned in pain as Akamaru kept barking.

- "Stop it, Akamaru!" Kiba said at him angrily and Akamaru immediately stopped. He had never seen his long time friend like that before. Realizing that, Kiba sighed and sat on a nearby bench. Hinata was right. How had he become like that? In only a matter of hours he had lost his two best friends and yelled at Akamaru. 'Why am I doing this? I'm not like that… why am I doing this?' He thought and another groan of pain left his lips. He looked where his wound was supposed to be and saw that a part of his pants was covered in blood. Thank god his pants were black and someone wouldn't be able to distinguish it right away. He shifted his eyes to look at Akamaru and sighed as regret washed over him. "I'm sorry buddy. I really didn't want to yell at you." Kiba said and Akamaru barked happily to show him that he accepted his apologize.

"What should I do, Akamaru?" Kiba said and run a hand through his messy dark brown hair. "I'm so confused."

"What are you confused about?" A sweet female voice said and his head shot up at once with his eyes meeting those of the girl he couldn't stop thinking about.

"Certain stuff…" He said once he recovered from the shock and his eyes looked elsewhere. Mai smiled.

"Do you want to tell me about these 'certain stuff' of yours?"

"Didn't Hinata tell you?" He said and she shook her head.

"Iie, I haven't seen Hinata since yesterday morning. She stayed at Tenten's for the night." She said and Kiba nodded his head in understanding. "What happened?" She asked him after a moment. Kiba chuckled.

"How can you know that something happened?"

"Haven't you looked your face in the mirror today? This expression you have is like screaming 'I'VE TOTALLY FUCKED UP!'" She said while moving her hands dramatically in the air. Kiba laughed. She smiled. "Seriously now though. What did you do?"

"Hey! I didn't do a thing!" He said with a small laugh and Mai narrowed her brows playfully.

"Kiba-"

"It's a long story." Kiba said and a sigh left his lips.

"I have time." She seriously said. "A lot of time…" His dark brown eyes met her hazel ones. Mai really wanted to help. She wanted to listen to what bothered him and help him every way she could. His eyes saddened and she noticed.

"Ok…" He said and sighed once more. "…I'll tell you everything."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She entered her house and closed the door behind her as quietly as she could. The last thing she wanted right now was to come face to face with either her father or her grandma.

"Hinata…" Hiashi said as he immediately walked out of his office once he heard the front door open and close. 'I should have come through the window of my bedroom.' Hinata thought and sighed.

"Hello father." She politely said and bowed before she tried to walk past her father and towards her room but from what it seemed, her father wanted to talk.

"Hinata, wait for a moment please. " He said in a serious voice, yet someone could easily distinguish his worry despite his cold profile. She slowly turned around to look at her father. "I would like to talk to you…"

"I'm sorry father but if you don't mind I'd like to go and have some rest. I'm quiet tired at the moment and I don't think that we would have a proper conversation this way." She replied gently and he nodded his head, allowing her do go and rest. But as she turned around once more and started walking towards her room, her father spoke again.

"Hinata?"

"Yes?"

"Are… are you ok?" He asked her in worry to see her eyes that sad. A weak smile graced her lips.

"Yes father…" She said gently "…everything is perfect…" She looked at him one last time before she finally went to her room, missing Hiashi's worried face.

She closed the wooden door of her room and fell on her soft bed, exhaustion already having a toll on her. She hugged her pillow as she stared out of her window. She was tired yet she didn't want to sleep. She was afraid that if she closed her eyes memories would emerge and she would feel worse than she felt at the moment. A long heavy sigh left her lips. Things were going crazy and she didn't know what to do.

She heard knocks on the door but she didn't bother telling her 'visitor' to come in. She already knew who it was…

The door opened and closed and she heard light footsteps coming towards her bed.

"Onee-chan, are you sleeping?" Hanabi whispered afraid not to wake her sister up if she was actually asleep.

"No Hanabi, I'm awake." Hinata said softly and turned around on her bed to look at her younger sister. Hanabi smiled and lied down on the bed next to Hinata.

"You seem tired…" Hanabi commented and Hinata smiled as a soft yawn left her lips.

"To be honest… I kind of am." Hinata said with a chuckle but stopped when she saw Hanabi's troubled face. "You want to talk about something?"

"No it's ok. We can discuss about it tomorrow morning. You're tired now anyway." Said Hanabi but as she was ready to get up from Hinata's bed, Hinata stopped her.

"Hanabi tell me. It's not like I can sleep even if I want to anyway." Hinata said and Hanabi hesitantly nodded her head. "So?"

"It was mom's death anniversary four days ago." Hanabi said or more like stated. This took Hinata by surprise but she didn't show it. Hanabi was never one to talk about their mother and when she did in rare occasions it would always be a word or two. Hinata nodded her head.

"Yeah it was." Hinata said. Hanabi pursued her lips. She wanted to say something but for some reason she hesitated.

"When you left me that letter four days ago it reminded of what day it was. I wanted to come with you in the cemetery to visit mom but Tsunade-sama assigned me, Keigo and Michio on a mission that day thus I was gone for three days." Hanabi said after a while with her eyes looking anywhere but her sister. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you that day."

"Don't be sorry." Hinata said and kissed Hanabi's forehead. Hanabi seemed to relax a bit. She loved her sister and seeing everything she was going through lately, she just wanted to herlp her somehow. Stand there for her. "Was that what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Can I ask you something more?" Hanabi said and Hinata nodded her head. "Are you ok?" To say that Hanabi had taken her by surprise was the least. Being asked the same question two times in one day, was quiet stunning to be honest. Did she really seem that bad?

"Why are you asking me this imouto?" Hinata asked her softly.

"I don't know. It's just that you… you seem so sad…." Hanabi said taking Hinata by surprise once more. Hinata shook her head with a smile.

"Do not worry Hanabi. I'm fine really. Just a bit tied." She lied and Hanabi nodded her head. She seemed to believe her.

"Can I ask you one more question?"

"Of course."

"Could I please sleep here with you tonight?" Hanabi said and Hinata smiled.

"You don't even have to ask." Hinata said and Hanabi grinned. She covered Hanabi with her white blanket as her little sister hugged her tightly and fell asleep.

Hinata looked at her as she peacefully slept. She would protect Hanabi no matter what and Hideo and anyone else was damned if he thought he'd hurt her.

'I'll protect her mom….I promise'

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Ohhh, I can't believe our little Kouta has his birthday today!" Ino squealed in excitement as she and Hinata walked through Konoha's shops looking for the perfect birthday presents for little Kouta. Hinata laughed. Ino's squeals were turning everyone's attention on them but her blonde haired friend didn't seem to mind.

Yeah, it's strange isn't it? It was only yesterday he was born. Kids grow up really fast." Hinata said and Ino nodded her head in agreement.

"Yeah… sometimes I can't help but think what Asuma-sensei would be like as father if he was here." Ino said with a smile. "I think he would spoil his son like a lot." Ino said with a giggle.

"It's not like we're not spoiling him. Especially Naruto and Shikamaru. They don't deny him a thing." Hinata sad with a small laugh.

"You know what? I can't wait till I get married and make my own family. You know... with cute blonde little girls running all around and getting on Sakura's nerves!"

"We're still very young Ino!" Hinata said with a giggle.

"I know but it's not like our parents had us at the age of thirty or something. If I'm not mistaken, your mother was nineteen when she had you and my mother was twenty one when she had me. So, technically speaking it is only a matter of a couple of years or so until you'll have small blonde boys and blue haired girls with either the byakugan or their father's blue eyes, running all around you Hina." Ino said teasingly and Hinata's cheeks turned cherry red at once. "Why are you looking at me like that? It's only a matter of time till you and Naruto get together and then he will ask you to marry him and after your fairy tail wedding, you'll get pregnant and have cute little children like you! OMG!"

"Ino!" Hinata said with great embarrassment and with her blush deepening.

"What?" Ino said with a laugh. Hinata just shook her head but remembering what Ino had just said about her and Naruto, made her smile. Getting married to him… having children with him… it all belonged to a dream but the question was: Could she have that dream?

Hinata looked around lost in her thoughts when she suddenly saw someone she hadn't seen for a long time. Her eyes widened in shock. It couldn't be…

"Hey Hinata are you listening to me? Hinata?" Ino called at her and she shot her head up to look at her friend at once. "You seemed a bit lost there…"

"Sorry about that." Hinata said with and apologetic smile. She quickly shifted her eyes to look at the person standing a few meters away from them before she turned to look at Ino once more. "Ino, could… could you carry on with the shopping on your own for the next five minutes? There's something I need to do…"

"Is anything wrong?" Ino asked worriedly.

"No no… It's just that I remembered something I need to do. It will only take five minutes, I promise…" Hinata said and Ino smiled.

"Ok take your time. I'll be at the toy store. Come and find me there ok?" Ino asked and Hinata nodded her head .

"Ok I'll meet you there." Hinata said and waved at Ino before walking away from her and towards the bookstore on the other side of the street. She saw the man through the large window of the shop, looking at some books. She didn't go inside but waited for him to come outside once he finished with his shopping. A bookstore was not the right place for them to talk.

For her luck, she didn't have to wait long as the man exited the bookstore only a minute later. She wanted to walk towards him and talk to him but she hesitated. What if she was wrong? What if this man was not the one she thought? She would sure be humiliated.

Taking a deep long breath as if to gather all the courage she had, she walked towards the man.

"Excuse me…" She softly called but the man didn't seem to hear. "Excuse me sir!" She called a bit louder this time and the man turned around comfused.

"Did you call me miss?" The tall man asked politely. Hinata took a few moments to observe him. Deep green sparkling eyes, pale skin, small face. He seemed young. She knew he couldn't be more than nineteen years old. Seeing him now face to face though, she knew that he was the one she was looking for. She was not mistaken.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for bothering you." Hinata said with a polite smile and the man smiled back. "I just wanted to ask you… are you by any means Ohayashi Kazuo?" She said and his eyes widened in shock.

"Yes, that is my name but how do you know? You seem familiar but I can't remember." He said while offering an apologetic smile. She chuckled.

"I didn't know I changed that much." She said "I'm Hinata Hyuga!" Hia eyes widened even more probably because he had just remembered who the young woman standing before him was.

"Hinata?" He asked in disbelief as she nodded her head. A wide grin crossed his face. You must be probably shocked to hear that but thse two had created quiet a friendship throughout the years. It is hard to believe that a girl would want to be friends with the one that bullied her back at the academy, but she couldn't quiet help it. A month after Kiba and Shino had saved her from Kazuo, Kei and Naoki at the academy yard, Kazuo had apologized to her for whatever he and his friends had done and Hinata had forgiven them without giving it much thought. She never really had anny kind of interaction with either Kei or Naoki except for some words they might exchange from time to time. She and Kazuo would actually talk a lot though.

She looked at him and smiled. He had changed so much yet she could still recognize him. Kazuo had left just a month before Naruto had returned to the village after his training with Jiraiya. Not many knew the actual reason he had left but she did. It was a little after Kei's death during a mission when Naoki went missing and Kazuo had set out to find him.

"It's been a very long time, hasn't it?" Kazuo asked and she nodded her head.

"Three years."

"Yeah, three years. I can't believe you changed that much." Kazuo said with a chuckle. Hinata laughed.

"It's not like you haven't changed at all." Hinata said. "When did you return?"

"Five days ago." Kazuo said with a sad smile. Hinata looked at him. She wasn't sure if it was a good idea to ask him about what happened with Naoki.

"Did… did you find-"

"No." He said before she could finish her question.

"What happened?"

"I just couldn't find him." Kazuo said and Hinata nodded her head in understanding.

"Do you think he is…" She couldn't say it. To ask someone whether he thought his best friend… his brother was dead or not, it was just too much.

"I don't know." He said. "But I won't stop searching even if I get too old to even stand on my feet. I'll find him." He said with a cheerful smile.

"Hinata! Are you coming or what?" Ino yelled from afar before she could say another thing to Kazuo. He smiled.

"Seems like your friend is looking for you." He said and she nodded her head before she slowly turned around and started walking towards Ino. After a couple of steps though, she stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at him once more.

"I'd really like to talk with you one of those days, Kazuo." She said.

"We'll arrange it." He said and waved to her goodbye before he started walking away. Hinata stayed there for a while, watching as he left. It hurt her to see him like that. Kazuo was going through a lot, yet he never wanted to show it. She only hoped she could help him somehow.

"Who was that?" Ino asked as she reached Hinata.

"Just… an old friend…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"That birthday cake looks great!" Choji said while patting his stomach.

"Not before the birthday party Choji." Ino said and gave him a quick pet on the lips before she exited the kitchen with a big bowl full of Kouta's favorite sweets. Choji pouted. That cake looked really good. Shikamaru chuckled as he leaned against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Shika-nee! Choji-nee!" Kouta shouted in pure enthusiasm and excitement as he run into the kitchen. He gave a hug to both Shikamaru and Choji before he climbed onto the kitchen counter and grinned from ear to ear.

"What is it Kouta?" Shikamaru asked him with a smile as he rufled the little boy's hair. Kouta laughed.

"When will the others come?" Kouta asked and Choji smiled.

"They'll be here soon teddy bear." Choji said with a frin as he swept Kouta up in his arms. Kouta pouted.

"Don't call me that Choji-nee!"

"Why not? I think it suits you and Ino thinks the same too. You're our little teddy bear."

"But I'm a grown up man now and grown up men don't have nicknames." Shikamaru and Choji laughed.

Hinata glanced at her sensei from time to time as she helped her and Ino get everything ready for the party. She sighed. It had been a week since Kiba's and Shino's fight and she was yet to tell Kurenai about it. Everyday she would see them and walk away. Had she given up? To be honest, she didn't even know herself.

How could she do anything about it really? How could she do something when they would accidentally see one another from time to time and then walk towards different directions as if they didn't even know each other.

She heard Kouta, Shikamaru and Choji laughing from the kitchen and she wondered whether they would come today.

"Kouta was so excited for today." Kurenai said with a wide smile as a light laugh left her lips. "He didn't stop saying how today he was becoming a grown up man and other stuff like that." Ino giggled.

"You won't believe what I and Hinata got him. He will be ecstatic!" Ino said with a giggle and a smile graced Hinata's lips.

"Guess I'll have to wait in order to see what you got him. I jope you didn't get any kind of those stuff Hanabi and Konohamaru like. The last thing I want right now is Kouta destroying our house." Kurenai said and they all started laughing when suddenly the bell door rang and Kurenai went to answer the door. When she opened the door though, her eyes widened in shock. Well, that was actually unexpected.

"Yo!" Kakashi said with a goofy smile hid behind his mask.

"Kakashi?" Kurenai asked surprised.

"What's the surprise about?"

"Well, I expected you to be the last one to arrive, not the first." Kurenai said and Kakashi grinned. "Nice to see you Anko." Kurenai greeted the woman standing beside Kakashi as she let them both in. "How was the mission?"

"Boring." Anko said and shrugged. "It wasn't even near to 'dangerous'. Someone shall imform Tsunade that we're not genins but exceptional jonin. That mission was a real waste of time.". Kakashi sighed.

"Don't pay her any mind. Anko is overreacting as always." Kakashi said Anko fumed.

"Urusai!" She told him irritated but he waved her off. Regaining her calm, Anko smiled. "So, where's my little cupcake?" She said and Kurenai chuckled at the nickname Anko would always call Kouta.

"He's in the kitchen with Shikamaru and Choji." Kurenai informed her and Anko nodded her head before waking towards the kitchen.

"Cupcake! Guess who's here?"

"So… where should I leave the present I brought for Kouta?" Kakashi asked coolly and Kurenai raised and eyebrow at that.

"It depends. What did you bring him?" Kurenai asked him suspiciously.

"I brought him my favorite book!" Kakashi said with a grin and Kurenai's eyes widened in shock as Ino and Hinata blushed.

"You did what?" Kurenai asked him shocked and he smiled before she grabbed the small package from his hands.

"Hey where are you going with my present?'

"I'm going to throw it away. Geez, Kakashi! I had told you not to bring him any perverted material until he becomes eighteen!"

"What are you talking about? This is not Icha Icha!" He said and Kurenai stopped and looked at him surprised.

"It's not?"

"Of course not! When I said 'my favorite book' I meant my favorite fairy tail when I was a kid!" Kakashi said coolly and Kurenai seemed to be convinced. "After all we talked about this. No Icha Icha for Kouta until he turns eighteen." He said and Kurenai elbowed him in the stomach before she walked towards the living room once more. "What was that for now?"

"That's for turning my son into a perverted ninja in the future!"

"Do you think they'll come tonight?" Naruto said and Sasuke shrugged. They were walking towards Kurenai's house for Kouta's birthday party.

"To be honest, I doubt that those two will be able to stay in the same room without killing each other." Sasuke said and Naruto nodded his head before he sifted his eyes o look up at the night sky.

"I don't like to say this, but I agree. It's already been a week and they haven't even talked." Naruto said and sighed.

"Hn…" Sasuke said in agreement.

"So, what present did you get for Kouta?" Naruto asked his best friend in an attempt to change the subject. Sasuke smirked.

"Something better than what you got him, be sure about that." Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Oh yeah? And what's your _awesome _present, teme?"

"Why don't you have a look for your self?" Sasuke said with an arrogant smirk as he gave the paper bag with the present, to Naruto.

Naruto opened the paper bag and looked inside filled with curiosity. He bit hard on his bottom lip in an attempt not to burst out in hysteric laughs but who was he kidding. For a moment there he had started to believe that Sasuke had really got Kouta something really good.

"Why are you laughing dobe?"

"Seriously now teme. Is this the best you could come up with as a birthday gift for little Kouta?" Naruto said in laughs.

"I don't see what's wrong with my gift." Sasuke said annoyed.

"It's a freaking tomato plushy, teme! I mean, for Kami-sama's sake!"

"He said he liked tomatoes!" Sasuke said as he grabbed his gift from Naruto. "What did **you** get him dobe?"

"Something that Kouta will love!" He said with pride as he carefully opened the bag he kept the gift and took it out for Sasuke to see.

"A bowl for ramen?"

"The greatest bowl of ramen! It is handmade, with drawings and his name written on it! It is not just a simple bowl of ramen, teme!" Naruto protested.

"And you got him this because?"

"Because he loves ramen just like I do!" Naruto said with a grin.

"Yeah, right…."

"I can't believe you were so late because you were comparing whose gift was the best!" Sakura said as sat down on the large couch next to Sasuke and Naruto.

"It's teme's fault." Naruto said coolly. "He started it."

"Very funny, baka." Sasuke said sarcastically. "He started it Sakura." Salura sighed. Those two were worse than Hanabi and Konohamaru who had one of their usual arguments on the other side of the room.

"Naruto-nee! Naruto-nee!" Kouta said as he ran towards Naruto and hoped onto his lap.

"What is it kiddo?" Naruto said with a grin and ruffled Kouta's hair.

"Do grown up men have nicknames, cause Shika-nee and Choji-nee say they do."

"Well, I guess they do."

"Do you have a nickname, Naruto-nee?" Kouta asked him with excitement. Naruto thought it for a moment. Did he have a nickname? Before he could answer though, Sasuke spoke up first.

"Of course he has a nickname." Sasuke said and smirked evilly at Naruto. Sakura shook her head. Those two were worse than kids.

"Really? What is his nickname Sasuke-nee?"

"Dobe!" Sasuke said and Naruto's eyes widened in shock. Sakura didn't even bother to hit them both on the heads. It's not like they would stop acting like five year olds.

"Do…dobe?" Kouta asked confused. He had never heard this word before.

"Yes, dobe! D-o-b-e!" Sasuke spelled with his smirk never leaving his lips. "Dobe!"

"I like it!" Kouta happily said as Naruto sent Sasuke non stop death glares.

"SASUKE! YOU'RE SUCH A DEAD MAN!"

Hinata went to open the front door when she heard the bell ring. Nobody had really noticed that someone had arrived cause in all the voices, music and noise, they could hardly hear the doorbell ring.

She took a hold of the doorknob and hesitated to open the door. She looked around the room once more. She knew who was at the door…

"She took a deep breath as she slowly opened the door only to come face to face with the two people she had known her whole life, yet they had decided that their bond was no longer needed. She briefly looked at them as she turned her eyes to look elsewhere.

"Come in," She said softly and the two men entered the room not even looking at one another. They had probably met outside by chance and she doubted if they had exchanged a single look. How had they become like this.

"Kiba-nee! Shino-nee!" Kouta shouted happily as he hoped off Naruto lap and run towards the two young men. "I'm so happy you came." He said and hugged them both.

Naruto raised his eyes to look at them but instead of the two former best friends, his eyes fell on HInata. He saw as she closed the front door and walked quickly towards the kitchen where no one was at the moment as everyone was gathered in the living room.

He stood up from the couch and followed her in the kitchen. He found the door half-open and walked quietly inside the small kitchen. She quickly turned around when she realized that someone had followed her in the kitchen.

"Naruto?" She said surprised and immediately cleaned her teary face. She didn't want him to see her like that. Breaking down…

He didn't say a thing as he stepped closer to her, so close that he could feel her breath on his face and neck. He raised his right hand and softly brushed away the tears that had started rolling down her cheeks again. She slowly hugged him and he gently wrapped his arms around her.

"Are you ok?" He asked her in a low soft voice and she shook her head against his chest.

"No." She admitted for the first time in weeks.

"Ok everyone, what about we take some pictures now?" Kurenai said and Kouta squealed in happiness thus making everyone laugh.

"Team 8 and Kouta first." Shikamaru said and all eyes fell on him at once. Shikamaru looked between Shino who sighed and Kiba who was throwing daggers with his eyes.

"Shikamaru, what are you doing?" Choji whispered to him but Shikamaru didn't answer.

"What a great idea Shikamaru!" Kurenai said and Kouta nodded his head eagerly. "Ok now, where's Hinata?"

"I think she is in the kitchen." Tenten said and went to call Hinata.

"I'm coming!" Hinata called softly as she and Naruto walked out of the kitchen. Under other circumstances, everyone would have smirked for the two getting closer but the atmosphere was very heavy at the moment to think of stuff like these.

"Ok, you, Shino and Kiba sit at the couch for the photo. Kouta, go and sit with Hinata." Kurenai said and her students did as she had said. Hinata sat in the middle of the couch with an all smiling Kouta in her lap and with Kiba at her right and Shino at her left. She looked between her two best friends or what was left of them. They were both stiff, angry and quiet annoyed to have to take a photo that would represent their 'lovely' team and friendship. As Kurenai was ready to take the photo though, something unexpected happened.

"That's ridiculous!" Kiba said in anger and instantly stood up and quickly walked out of the apartment, leaving everybody shocked.

"Kiba!" Shino called as he too stood up and ran after him. "Kiba wait!" Shino called again and indeed Kiba stopped.

He quickly turned around and grabbed Shino by the collar of his coat, his unfamiliar cold eyes looking at the man he once considered his brother.

"What do you want fro me, huh? Don't you think you've done enough?" Kiba shouted at him.

"This is ridiculous. Stop it. For the shake of our friendship! Stop acting like this!"

"Urusai! URUSAI! I don't care if we once were best friends! I don't care if our fathers' were once friends! I don't care if we once were a team! It all means nothing to me!" Kiba yelled at him with such anger that would make any kind of enemies run away in tears.

"You don't know what you are doing!" Shino shouted this time in rage. "And do you know what? If you don't care about our friendship then I don't care as well!" He yelled and as they were about to hit each other, Hinata came out of the apartment running.

"YAMETE!" She shouted as she ran towards them and broke them apart. The two young men looked at her for a moment before looking at the rest of their friends and senseis standing only a couple of meters away, in front of the apartments front door.

"Hinata, I asked you this a week ago and I'm asking you again now." Kiba said as both he and Shino looked at her. "Choose with whose side you want to be! Choose who you want to support!"

"What-" She tried to say but Shino cut her off.

"He's right Hinata. I and Kiba are no longer friends. We can't be team eight as we once were. You have to choose who you want to support through all this!" Shino said, his voice being as cold as ice.

"But… I… I can't-"

"Hinata! Choose!" Shino said or more like commanded.

"But-"

"CHOOSE!" Kiba shouted.

***SLAP* *SLAP***

Kiba and Shino touched their cheeks in shock. Had something like that just happened? They raised their eyes to look at Hinata, stunned. Angry tears were endlessly running down her eyes and for the first time since their fight, they both understood that they had taken the whole matter way too far.

"Hinata, I'm-" Kiba said softly or tried to say as he was cut of by Hinata. Everyone else was stunned as well. For Hinata to slap someone, it meant that her best friends had really driven her over her limits.

"You're what? Sorry?" Hinata said in anger and hurt as the tears never stopped running down her face.

"Hinata-" Shino tried to say.

"How can you tell me to choose between my brothers?"

"Hinata, you don't understand…" Kiba said softly.

"No! I understand very well!" She shouted. "**You** are too selfish to understand what you're doing! You let twelve years of friendship go to waste because you're both too selfish to understand! You've made Hana sad and to top it all, you destroyed Kouta's birthday!" She said and as Kiba was about to explain or at least try to explain, the most unexpected person spoke up.

"Go!" He said and all eyes fell on little Kouta standing protectively in front of Hinata.

"Kouta, go inside." Kurenai said softly but her little son didn't seem to listen. Instead he looked at both Kiba and Shino through narrowed angry eyes.

"Kouta-" Shino tried to say.

"Go! Leave!" Kouta repeated. "You're making Hinata-nee sad!"

"Kouta, we-"

"Leave!" He shouted at them. Hinata gasped. Kiba and Shino nodded their heads and turned around to leave but Kiba stopped for a moment and turned around to speak to Hinata once more.

"Hinata, please I…" He tried to say 'I'm sorry' but stopped. After everything he had done, the last he deserved at the moment was forgiveness. He saw as she bent down on her knees and scooped Kouta up in her arms.

"You said that team 8 is over…" She said not looking at him. "And I agree… I don't ever want to see you in my eyes again. None of you…" She said softly and turned around to go inside. He tried to follow her but Naruto stopped him.

"Don't you think you've broken her enough?" Naruto said in a low angry tone and lightly pushed Kiba away before he followed Hinata inside. He looked at everyone else that had seen the whole seen but what broke his heart the most, was Kurenai's disappointed look.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He walked through the dark and empty corridor of their hideout. He felt all his muscles tense and hurt to no end. Someone would have thought that after almost four years under the leader's harsh training, he would have got used to all the tiredness and pain.

He stopped in front of a heavy wooden door and sighed before her opened the door and stepped inside. Suddenly all the dead silence from the corridor was destroyed by the extreme noise his 'comrades' were making inside the room. Most of them had just returned from training as well and were now chatting with one another just to kill some time. The room that was much like a living room, was quiet large so you couldn't say they had any problem of space in there.

"Hey! Look who is back from training!" A man named Tadao, said.

"Hey there, Masahiro." Shin simply said and Masahiro nodded his head in greeting. Shin was one of the few people he would associate with in the organization. He was a very quiet and understandable man who always gave him the peace and quiet he needed.

Masahiro walked towards a large wooden wardrobe at the other side of the room. He opened the wardrobe and bend down on his knees to open a small drawer that belonged to him. He took out the small key from within his pocket and opened the drawer. He didn't have many things inside, just the one most important thing to him. He took the old kind of destroyed headband protector in his hands and lightly touched the leaf sign with the tips of his fingers. A long sigh left his lips as memories came back to his mind and his heart was filled with nostalgia.

"I don't understand why you insist on keeping this trash." A female voice said from behind him and he immediately threw the headband protector back in the drawer and locked it before he stood up and closed the wardrobe.

"It is none of your business, Etsuko." He replied harshly before walking past her.

"It may be none of my business but I just cannot understand why you keep remembering the past." Etsuko said as she followed after him. Masahiro sat on the couch next to Shin and Tadao before he gave her an answer.

"Do not speak when you do not know." He said in the same harsh and cold tone. Etsuko sighed in annoyance and sat beside him on the couch.

"Whatever…" She mumbled under her breath. The four of them stayed in silence for a moment before Tadao groaned in annoyance.

"Ok, I know you don't want to talk about this but tell me why don't we go and save Daichi, again?" Tadao said and Shin sighed.

"You know that leader-sama doesn't allow us to." Shin said calmly.

"That's stupid!" Tadao said with another froan of annoyance leaving his lips. Shin agreed but didn't say it out loud. He was afraid for his best friend's life.

"Tell me about it!" Etsuko said. "It's no surprise to me that his teammates on that specific mission didn't help him. Goro, Haruo and Madoka always hated Daichi."

"Goro, Haruo and Madoka hate everyone, Etsuko!" Shin said and Masahiro nodded his head in agreement. "It's no surprise they're leader-sama's favorite students and fighters."

"But we'll just stay here and do nothing? He's our friend!" Tadao said and Shin shook his head.

"We can't do a thing and you know it. We have orders and if we look past them then we're as good as dead. People in Konohagakure are not bad anyway. Daichi might be in prison but his life is in no danger." Shin said.

"You should have seen Rie's face when leader –sama gave her Daichi's position. That bitch… " Etsuko said in a low angry tone and Shin shook his head again.

"Rie is as bad as Goro, Haruo and Madoka. She always wanted Daichi out of her way in order to have his position as the poisons-master of the organization. You shouldn't be surprised by that." Shin said and a bitter chuckle left Etsuko's lips.

"I'm not surprised, I'm angry!" She said but before another word could be said, the door opened to reveal a tall man with messy black hair and yellow eyes. 'Hisoka' Masahiro though and narrowed his eyes. He truly hated that man.

"Good to see you… Naoki!" Hisoka said with an evil smirk and Masahiro stood up in rage. He ran towards Hisoka with inhuman speed and shoved him hard against the wall. He grabbed him by the collar of his white shirt and looked at him deadly in the eye.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Masahiro shouted at him in rage. "That's no longer my name!"


	7. Chapter 7: The end is near

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OTHER PRODUCTS IN THIS FANFICTION. I **ONLY OWN THE STORYLINE!**

**Here is a rewritten and revised version of a Naruto fanfic I wrote a few years back. Enjoy!**

**p.s. Excuse me fore any stupid errors please!**

**-FairyLullaby**

**Chapter 7: The end is near**

She laid her palm on her window and winced at how cold the glass was. She looked outside. It wasn't snowing or raining, yet the weather was as cold as ever. It was only three days ago that the sun was still shining up at the sky, gifting Konohagakure with its warmness, but it was today that winter actually decided to show his true face. She sighed and held her thin white cotton blanket closer around herself as if she would get any warmer.

Her pale golden-brown eyes wandered on the endless gardens of the Hyuga compound until they fell on a girl taking care of some white flowers. Even if she was far away from her and she couldn't quiet distinguish the girl's characteristics, she would never mistaken those navy blue waist length hair that were gently touching the ground as she sat on the grass.

She shifted her eyes to look at the alarm clock standing on her nightstand right beside her bed. _7:30 a.m._

She walked away from the window and towards her bed while catching her shoulder length light brown hair up on a messy ponytail on the process. She opened her handmade leather bag and looked inside. To say that in her bag was the paradise for all healers, was the least. Someone could find anything in her bag, from herbs that cured colds to drugs and antibiotics that helped in saving lives. None of those was what she was looking for though. She unzipped a secret pocket within her bag and took the small glass bottle in her hands. She looked at it for a moment. White thick liquid moving slowly within the small glass bottle that contained only a tiny quantity of it. That liquid that seemed so innocent, so of no importance… that liquid was the only thin string between life and death.

She looked at the clock again. _7:32 a.m._

She closed her fist tightly around the bottle and took a deep breath in order to calm herself down. She opened the door of her bedroom and stepped out. It was funny how people always underestimated time. They all thought they had their lives in their hands… that they would never get old… that they had all the time they needed… but how wrong they were. What they don't understand is that they don't have enough time. Nobody ever has enough time… cause within seconds… that life can be taken from within your hands and you will be left wondering how could this happen.

She knew it all too well. She didn't have enough time to say goodbye to her parents because she thought she'd see them again. Ever since the news of her parents' deaths came to her ears, she never underestimated time again. From that day and on… even a minute would be too important to spare on useless things. Because every minute… every second… every moment… mattered.

She stopped in front of the wooden door of a bedroom and hesitated to go inside. She sifted her eyes to look at the small bottle in her hand and exhaled as if to get rid of that heavy feeling in her heart.

She lightly knocked on the door with her right hand as her left hand clutched tightly on the doorknob. She closed her eyes. She couldn't do this any more…

"Come in…" An old, gentle and weak voice called from the other side of the door. She quickly brushed away the tear that had started rolling down her cheek and nodded her head in an attempt to encourage herself. She couldn't do this any more…

She slowly opened the door and stepped inside the room with the old wooden floor crackling beneath her feet as she walked. She carefully closed the door behind her and stood there, not walking any farther inside the room. Her eyes fell on the old woman sitting on the edge of her bed. The tips of her fingers were softly brushing over the small square frame in her wrinkled hands.

The old lady that despite her age seemed as beautiful as ever, raised her eyes to look at the young woman standing before her door. A weak smile graced her lips before she motioned for the young woman to come closer.

"There's no reason for you to keep standing there, Mai." Hitomi said gently and Mai nodded her head before sitting next to her mentor.

She looked at the picture in Hitomi's hands and her eyes saddened. A tall boy with warm caring eyes and short black hair was hugging his by six years younger sister who was happily smiling. The boy couldn't have been more than eighteen years old at the time as the girl was around twelve then. She looked at the beautiful girl a little longer. Long navy blue hair and gentle lavender eyes. Those eyes that where so much like her daughter's.

"I've cried so much for them both, that I no longer have any tears to shed." Hitomi said softly. She placed the photograph of her two children on the nightstand beside her bed. She would always have their photograph next to her bed, both the photograph of her children and the photograph of her husband. She would always look at their pictures and tell them _Goodnight_ before she fell asleep. "But enough with my self pity!" Hitomi said with a weak laugh escaping her lips but Mai just shook her head. It was a surprise for her to see a person that has gone through so much in her life, still have the strength to smile. "Was there anything you wanted to tell me my child?"

"Not really. I just came to bring you this…" Mai said and showed the small glass bottle to Hitomi. The old woman nodded her head with a sad smile. She was about to take the small bottle from Mai until she stopped her.

"Hitomi-sama… I… don't you think that this should stop?" Mai said but Hitomi didn't answer as she gently took the glass bottle and opened it. She looked at it hesitant and unsure for a moment. Mai was right but… she couldn't do or else. She drank it, savoring the familiar bitter flavor of the white liquid that always made her shiver. She grimaced in disgust.

"I'll never get used to that stupid and horrible taste. It seems like it becomes more and more disgusting to drink every time!" Hitomi said with another weak laugh leaving her lips but her soft laugh was cut short when she saw Mai's eyes sadden. She took her hand in hers and smiled as she looked at her. Mai didn't respond though. She kept looking elsewhere in an attempt to prevent her tears from falling. "Mai look at me…" She said softly but Mai didn't raise her head to look at her mentor. She didn't want to cry in front of Hitomi. "Look at me my child…" She raised Mai's head with her index finger holding gently under the young girl's chin. She looked into her student's eyes. They were so sad… so depressed. "I want to ask you a favor." She said and Mai nodded her head. "Even if I fall on my knees, unable to stand up on my own… even if I start choking, unable to breath… promise me that you'll never consider me weak… " Mai looked at her and then she understood. She saw it in her eyes. How could you consider a woman like Hitomi weak?

"I promise." Mai said and she meant it. Her mentor was the strongest woman she had ever seen, because even if her world had collapsed she stood up again, willing to live for those left to her to love.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Her right fist closed tightly around the paper while her left hand griped roughly on the arm of her wooden chair. She let the tatty paper fall from her hand and land on the smooth wooden surface of her desk as she closed her eyes tightly in an attempt to keep her calm.

She opened one of the drawers of her desk and took out a glass and a bottle of sake that she always made sure to have in case she needed something to calm down.

She opened the bottle and poured some shake in her crystal glass. She took the glass and looked at it. The drink that always helped her calm down and forget of her problems now seemed to be useless. Nothing would help her forget of what was going on.

She didn't drink.

She left the glass with the shake on her desk but she didn't let go of it, her fist still gripping it fiercely. She shifted her light golden-amber eyes to look at the young woman standing before her. And as light golden-amber eyes met onyx ones, she sighed.

"What's the meaning of this Shizune?" Tsunade said with such a calm and unfamiliar voice that made Shizune shudder. It was kind of scary to see a woman like Tsunade so uncharacteristically calm after what she had just learned from the letter Gaara had sent her.

"These are the results of the search that Suna, Konoha and Iwa ninjas carried out, Tsunade-sama." Shizume informed her. Tsunade just shook her head at that.

"I know about the research Shizune! If you don't remember, I among with the other Kages decided for that research to be made!" Tsunade said, her voice laced with annoyance. Shizune wasn't offended or anything though. She knew that what Tsunade was going through lately was pretty tough to handle. "So? Are those numbers here really true?"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. I'm afraid that the numbers are correct. Over twenty small ninja villages and three Hidden Villages were attacked, with Kirigakure and Iwagakure being the last to have been attacked so far." Shizune said and Tsunade gripped the glass tighter. "The third Tsuchikage has asked for some of our finest shinobi to help him and the villagers for the next three weeks or even month if that is possible for us. The Fifth Mizukage has also asked for our assistance. With Kirigakure in ruins they'll need as much help as they can afford. The Fourth Raikage has already sent a lot Kumo ninjas to help both Kirigakure and Iwagakure, with Killer B, Omoi, Karui and Samui being some of the first sent out to help. Only Kazekage-sama, hasn't sent out any help yet…" Shizune said but Tsunade didn't seem the least surprised by it. Gaara had already mentioned in the letter he had sent her about the rumors that had started to spread. Sunagakure would be the next to be attacked and they needed as many shinobi as they could get or else another hidden village would end up in ruins.

She had done everything she could. She had cancelled all missions for any Konoha shinobi until recently, in an attempt to prevent for any more assassinations to happen like in Team Four's case with Eito, Jiro, Aiko, Kaito and Genji.

She had managed to not let any piece of information about the continuous distractions of ninja villages by the _Knights of Death, _arrive at the people of Konoha. Everyone in the Hidden Leaf would wake up every day thinking that they lives were going on in peace, but how wrong they were.

It was only a matter of time until Konoha was attacked as well and only a few knew about the whole situation, with only jonins and ANBUS let to know but not talk to anybody about it- not even discuss it with one another.

It was only a matter of time until their village would be attacked… it was only a matter of time until their lives would be left in ruins again. She couldn't allow this but… what could she do? She was so angry. Angry with the _Knights of Death _for wanting to destroy their lives again but most of all she was angry with herself. Angry because even if she was the Hokage, she couldn't do anything to protect the people of Konoha. She couldn't do anything to prevent the distraction, the deaths… the pain.

"Tsunade-sama!" She heard Shizune exclaim in agony and only the she understood what was going on. She looked down at her hand. Blood was pouring out of a deep wound on her palm and small pieces of glass pierced through the soft flesh of her inner palm as the sake that was previously in the now broken glass, was now staining her desk and clothes. She saw Shizune ran at her aid at once trying to heal her hand. Tsunade didn't do a thing. She didn't wince in pain as she didn't feel any pain. All she could feel was her warm blood further staining her clothes. She shifted her eyes to look outside the window, paying no attentions to what Shizune was telling her while bandaging her hand.

Everyone considered her strong due to the endless pain she had experienced throughout her life. But was she?

A tear threatened to leave her eyes but she held it back. She hadn't cried for years and she wouldn't cry now.

"Call the Konoha 13…" She said in a steady calm voice and Shizune shot up her head at once, looking at her mentor with wide onyx eyes. "…I have a mission for them."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She smiled as she touched the white petals of the flowers with the tips of her fingers. They were so soft, so vulnerable, yet they were so strong.

She shoved her hands further into the warmness of her pockets. She sighed. It was so cold outside.

"I can't understand why you're outside when you're obviously freezing." She turned around to look at the person that this so familiar soft voice belonged to. She smiled.

"It's not that bad, Mai." Hinata said softly. Mai just shook her head with a chuckle. She sat beside Hinata, on the ground, still holding her white cotton blanket tightly around her body in an attempt to keep as warm as possible.

"Ah hah, I know but when you grow up in a place like Shiwagakure where the weather is pretty warm-even during winter- it's a bit hard to get used to the cold here." She said and Hinata giggled.

'Shiwagakure…' Hinata thought. She always heard so much about that place, yet she never saw it with her own eyes. She wanted to go there though… even for once she'd like to see the place her mother came from. She sighed but it all went unnoticed by Mai, who was too preoccupied admiring the flowers in front of them.

"Ohhh, they're so beautiful Hinata! They're _Snowdrops _aren't they?" Mai said in excitement and Hinata nodded her head with a smile. "WOW, I've never seen this flower before. I mean- I've read about them in books but never really had the chance to see them in like face-to-face!" Mai said with a laugh and Hinata giggled. Mai was always so open with her feelings and thoughts, never being afraid to express them out loud. It was something Hinata admired.

"Their actual name is _Galanthus_-because of their white color-, but most people know them as _Snowdrops _as you also said. They are some of the few flowers that flourish during winter." Hinata said and a bright smile graced her lips. "It is amazing isn't it, how life can flourish when everything else dies?" Mai smiled. She knew what Hinata meant.

"Yes… it is…" She said and touched the flowers with the tips of her fingers. She sifted her eyes to look at Hinata. "Who planted them?"

Hinata hesitated for a moment, not quiet sure if she would be able to say it out loud. In the end she smiled though.

"My mom…" Mai nodded her head in understanding. She had expected that Hinata would answer like that. "I don't know why she decided to plant them, but I know that she always loved and took great care of them. I have no idea why though."

"Who knows? Maybe they meant something special for her." Mai said and Hinata looked at her confused for a moment but then nodded her head. Mai looked at her, not saying anything for a moment. She sighed. "You know… I've wanted to ask you that a long time now." She said and Hinata raised an eyebrow at that. Mai sighed again. How could she say that? "What did Hitomi-sama do to you?" She finally asked her and Hinata's eyes widened in shock. That sure was something she had not expected.

"W-what?"

"What has she done to you? I mean… You don't want to talk to her. Whenever you come across with her, you walk the other way. What has she done to deserve such an attitude?" Mai said softly.

"You don't know…" Hinata said, shaking her head. Indeed, Mai didn't know a thing or maybe she knew, but she didn't know it all.

"You sure you want to know?" Hinata asked her and Mai stayed silent for a moment before she finally nodded her head. Hinata sighed. "Well, where to begin?" She said with a bitter chuckle leaving her lips. She had never talked about it with anyone before. She sniffed in an attempt to hold back her tears as the memories emerged. "Grandma was always there for me… always… and that's why I loved her so much. When my mother died though, she… she left, not looking back even once." Hinata said and took a deep breath before she continued. "I would send her letters all the time, telling her how I was doing at the academy, about my friends, my team, our missions… She would answer my letters the first three years… rarely but she would answer them. Then…" She stopped. She didn't want to go on. It hurt too much.

"Then what?" Mai asked her softly.

"Then… she just stopped answering them." Hinata said with a sad smile. "She forgot about me just like that. She left me when I needed her the most and I'm not sure if I can forgive her now." Mai nodded her head in understanding. She looked at HInata and sighed.

"She never forgot you." Mai said and Hinata looked at her in confusion. "I don't know why she stopped answering your letters. I don't know why she left all those years ago and I don't know why she never came to visit you during that time, but I do know that she never forgot you, Hinata. She would always talk about you and Hanabi. She would always keep a picture of you with her and she would always pray for your safety!" Mai said and Hinata's eyes saddened. "I know that what she did is unforgivable, but… but try... try to forgive her before it's too late."

Hinata turned her head to look at the flowers again as tears welled up in her eyes. Forgive her? Could she really forgive her?

She opened her mouth to give a proper answer to Mai but someone else spoke before she could.

"Hinata" Hinata and Mai turned their heads to look at Neji. He looked worried. "Tsunade-sama has asked us to her office. We're going on a mission…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He shoved his hands deep into the warmth of the pockets of his pants in an attempt to get a little warmer. It was so cold that not even their jackets helped.

He heard Sasuke sigh beside him. He chuckled, making sure that his raven haired best friend wouldn't take notice. Seems like the Uchiha despised the cold, not to mention he was all bitchy because of the weather, mumbling curses every time he couldn't get warm enough.

"Damn that cold!" He heard Sasuke curse under his breath and he chuckled again, this time unable to keep any kind of discretion. The Uchiha turned to look at him at once, narrowing his eyes at his best friend who was laughing with his situation.

"What are you laughing at, dobe?" Sasuke asked him angrily and Naruto chuckled again.

"I just can't believe you're acting like a bratty child because of the weather! It's not all that bad anyway!" Naruto said with a teasing grin, knowing that he was driving Sasuke crazy.

"You're kidding me right?" Sasuke said with his eyes throwing daggers at the blonde.

"Oh come on! When the weather gets cold it means that winter has arrived!"

"And you're so excited because?"

"Oh gi'me a break teme! Cold means winter, winter means snow and I love snow!" Naruto protested.

"I still don't see what's so great about it!" Sasuke said with his voice and face as impassive as always.

"Ohh forget it!" Naruto said and Sasuke just shook his head while still trying to get a bit warmer. "By the way, where's Sakura? I thought she'd come with us this morning."

"Extra shift in the hospital. Seems like everyone decided to get sick today." Sasuke said sarcastically and Naruto laughed.

"You're overreacting!"

"I know!" Sasuke said with a feign smile gracing his lips for the first time that same morning. "What are you going to do?" Naruto looked at him confused.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke sighed.

"About Hinata… what are you going to do about Hinata?" Naruto looked at him for a moment but then shifted his eyes to look elsewhere.

"I don't know…"

"What do you feel about her?" Sasuke asked him and Naruto stopped walking, with Sasuke doing the same. 'I love her' Naruto thought.

"She is my friend…" Naruto lied and Sasuke shook his head again.

"You're lying. I know how you feel about her and I know how she feels about you. Everyone knows." Sasuke said but before Naruto could protest he spoke up again. "You'd better tell her you love her before it's too late for you both, dobe."

Naruto looked at him with narrowed crystal blue eyes. He hated when Sasuke was right but he couldn't tell her. Not yet. Not when so much was going on.

Sasuke turned his head to look at Shikamaru who was walking towards them.

"We're going on a mission." Shikamaru said and the two best friends looked at him with somewhat wide eyes. For the first time in years, Shikamaru's impassive pale face was filled worry.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She raised her head to look at the young fighters standing before her, waiting for her to explain. Calling them all so suddenly to give them a mission, had startled them greatly to say the least.

"I guess you're wondering why I decided to give you all a mission all of a sudden, am I right?" Tsunade said and everyone nodded their heads. "I have no time for explaining so I'll proceed on giving you the missions." She said, taking three huge paper files in front of her. "Neji, Tenten, and Lee, you will be going to Kirigakure that was attacked one and a half months ago. The Fifth Mizukage herself has asked for you four to help her and the village for a small period of time." She said and gave them the first file. "You'll find all the information you'll need, in this file. You'll be leaving before sunset." She said and the four of them nodded their heads.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!" They said in unison and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Tsunade turned her head to look at team Asuma then.

"Shikamaru, Ino and Choji, you'll be going to Iwagakure that was attacked two weeks ago. Much like Neji, Tenten, and Lee, you'll be helping the Third Tsuchikage and the Iwa citizens for a small period of time. Everything you'll need is in the file. Leave before sunset." She said and handed the second file to Shikamaru.

"Hai, Hokage-sama" They said in unison and jumped out of the open window.

She then looked at the third file in her hands instead of the two last teams standing before her.

"Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, Kiba and Shino, you'll be going to Sunagakure." She said and Naruto's eyes widened in shock as Tsunade handed him the third file.

"Where they attacked as well?" Naruto said and gulped, afraid of Tsunade's answer.

"No." She said and a sigh of relief left everyone's lips. "But they will." Everyone gasped.

"W-what?" Hinata shuttered out. Tsunade sighed.

"There are rumours that Suna will be the next hidden village to be attacked. Your mission is to make sure that no massive distraction happens." Tsunade said and they all nodded their heads. "You have the most important mission out of the three, so make sure not to screw up. Naruto you'll be the leader of this mission. Gaara will be waiting for you before nightfall tomorrow. You'll be leaving within the next hour." She said and they bowed before turning around to leave. "Hinata, wait for a moment please." She said and everyone stopped in their tracks. They looked confused.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama." Hinata replied politely and Tsunade motioned for her to come closer.

The Hokage opened one of the drawers of her desk and took a small white box. She looked at it for a moment. Was it really a good idea to give those to Hinata?

"Here, take it." She said and Hinata looked at her for a second before finally taking the small white box in her hands. Naruto walked towards them and stood beside Hinata, looking at Tsunade suspiciously.

"What is it?" She asked Tsunade.

"They're eyes lenses." Tsunade simply said and Naruto's eyes widened in shock yet again. Seems like surprises didn't seem to have an end that same day.

"Eye lenses? For what?" Hinata asked her although she already knew the answer. It had to do with the deaths of her cousins, she was sure about that.

"We don't know whether the organization –aside from the hidden villages- has also an intention to harm the Hyugas or not. At first, I was not going to assign you or Neji for the mission, afraid of a possible attack again, but then I thought otherwise." Tsunade said, looking between Hinata and Naruto. "You and Neji are greatly strong jonins and important shinobi for our village, and no matter what Hiashi thinks, I believe that you two are more than just capable of protecting yourselves."

"My father?" Hinata looked at her confused. She walked a bit closer to Tsunade's desk as if she hadn't heard her right. Her father?

"Yes." Tsunade said or more like stated. "He came and talked to me some days after your cousins' funerals. He demanded that I don't assign you on any mission until danger has completely disappeared." She saw Hinata's eyes narrow. As expected, she didn't like the fact that her father had intervened. Her lips formed a very feign smile, invisible to most of the people in her office. She looked at Hinata. That girl would always find a way to surprise her. She was ready to protest, she could feel it. She was ready to voice her disagreement on her father's actions for intruding like that in her life. "I achieved to talk him out of this in the end." She said and Hinata seemed to relax a bit. "Under one condition though..." Her body stiffened. Condition? Great, just great! Why should there always be a condition? "…you'll wear the lenses." She said and Hinata seemed to be troubled. She looked at the small white box within her hand and sighed. Why did she have to hide who she was?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He took a big dark green backpack and threw it on his bed. He opened his wooden wardrobe and took out a handful of clothes, scrolls and kunais, throwing them carelessly in the backpack. He zipped it up with a swift move and sat on his bed.

Why did Tsunade have to assign him on that mission with Hinata and Shino after everything that had happened only a few days ago?

He was sure that their Hokage knew about the fight between team 8. Hell, Kurenai would sure have told her if Kakashi, Anko, Guy or Iruka hadn't already.

He fell back on his bed and sighed. It wasn't that he was angry with Shino or Hinata, it was that he had totally fucked up that he didn't want to go on that mission.

He hadn't talked to them ever since the incident at Kouta's party. Or maybe **they** hadn't talked to him ever since Kouta's party. Or maybe again, it was Hinata who hadn't talked to **them** ever since Kouta's party. What a mess.

He sighed again. HInata was right. He had hurt everyone just for his selfishness. He had let twelve years of friendship go to waste because of his stupidity and stubbornness.

"I don't ever want to see you in my eyes again…" He whispered under his breath, repeating what Hinata had told them a few nights back. He seemed to do that a lot lately. He would repeat that night over and over again in his mind as if to convince himself it wasn't all a stupid nightmare. It was reality. And reality hurt…

Akamaru jumped on the bed and sat beside Kiba. Kiba rested himself on his elbows and turned to look at his comrade and friend. He smiled as he ran a hand through Akamaru's soft white fur before he patted his head.

"I guess we have to get going, right buddy?" Kiba said and Akamaru barked happily. "Come on, let's go." He took his backpack from his bed and walked out of his room with Akamaru walking beside him. He walked down the old wooden stairs in a hurry and ran towards the front door.

"_What do you want from me, huh? Don't you think you've done enough?" Kiba shouted at him._

"_This is ridiculous. Stop it. For the shake of our friendship! Stop acting like this!"_

"_Urusai! URUSAI! I don't care if we once were best friends! I don't care if our fathers' were once friends! I don't care if we once were a team! It all means nothing to me!" Kiba yelled at him with such anger that would make any kind of enemies run away in tears._

"_You don't know what you are doing!" Shino shouted this time in rage. "And do you know what? If you don't care about our friendship then I don't care as well!"_

His eyes saddened as the memories emerged. He now walked slowly through the gardens of the Inuzuka compound. 'Shino…'

He sniffed in an attempt to hold back his tears. 'Damn me… what am I supposed to do?' He thought.

"Come on boy! Yeah that's it!" He heard a familiar female voice shout happily from afar. He stopped and turned his head to see the young woman it belonged to.

She was playing with her ninken, having some fun time after a hard training and an even harder mission.

She was throwing toys at the three dogs, expecting them to bring them back to her like someone would do with regular dogs. He chuckled. Despite being more like a family than a clan, the Inuzuka clan was quiet strict when it came to its ninken. The three member council of their clan would always insist that ninken were treated only as comrades and not as pets or friends. Stupid old men…

Of course no one would follow their orders with this young woman being one of the first to defy them.

He stood there and looked at her. She seemed so happy, as if her life was perfect. Her dark brown eyes were giving away her true feelings though. The more he looked at her the more regret and guilt he would feel. And then she turned and looked at him surprised to see him standing there. And she just looked at him with eyes sad. She just looked at him. His sister just looked at him.

_He ran through the crowd of shinobis, struggling to reach the medic tents. He felt his left arm paralyze from the extreme pain and blood loss but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything other than reaching the medic tents at the moment. He didn't care about the deep bloody wound on his arm that a white Zetsu had caused him only minutes ago. He didn't care about Akamaru's worrying barks. He didn't care about the curses he'd receive for pushing so carelessly his way through the crowd of warriors. Heck, he wouldn't even care if he was to die at the moment. All he cared about was reaching the medic tents. _

_He ran inside a medic tent with Akamaru at his side. His skin was glistering with sweat and dirt from the fight and his wound seemed to be worse than before. He felt every single muscle of his body tense so much it hurt him to no end as his lungs suddenly felt unable to work properly and provide him with the oxygen he needed. He didn't care though. He had arrived. He had finally arrived._

_He was about to fall down, collapse right there and then, but he didn't or at least someone else made sure he didn't hit the ground. He felt two pairs of strong hands keeping him on his feet and realizing he wouldn't hit the ground any time soon, he opened his eyes to see who had helped him._

"_Daijoubu, Inuzuka-san?" The blonde haired woman to his right asked. The dark haired man to his left, sighed while resisting the urge to roll his eyes._

"_Of course and he is NOT ok, Miyuki! He needs medical treatment and immediately!" The man said in a pretty annoyed and tired tone. They probably had been attending to injured shinobi all day long that same day and tiredness had started to kick in._

"_Oh shut up Hotaka! I know it alright!" Miyuki snapped. "Come on Inuzuka-san. We need to heal you." She then said politely, but Kiba just shook his head, trying to get out of their supportive and much needed grasp. _

"_N-no… I… I have to go… see her… my…" He didn't finish his sentence, feeling his throat go dry._

"_No, Inuzuka-san! You're hurt! We have to heal you!" Miyuki said but he didn't care. With one quick move he was out of their grasp, but only for a moment as they caught him again._

"_Where is she? They told me she was brought here! They told me she is hurt! Where is she?" He asked in new found power as his voice was laced with anger and impatience. _

"_But Inuzuka-san-"_

"_Where is she?" He asked again in anger. Hotaka sighed. Shizune would most probably kill them if she found out that they hadn't healed Kiba right away, but he couldn't do or else._

"_We'll take you to her Inuzuka-san but I want you to promise that then you'll let us heal you." Hotaka said, his voice being as steady and calm as always. Kiba just nodded his head in reply._

_They helped him walk towards the other end of the tent, where beds with injured shinobi were settled. _

"_She is here…" Hotaka said. "…behind the white curtain." Kiba got out of their grasp again but this time they didn't try to catch him again. They let him open the curtain and come face to face with the harsh reality._

_He saw his mother sleeping on a chair beside the bed, probably too tired to keep her eyes open any longer. He smiled at her, but only for a moment, as he then shifted his dark brown eyes too look at the lean figure lying on the bed. His eyes saddened as he walked towards her and kneeled down on the floor beside her bed. He took her cold hand in his, much like he would always do when younger in an attempt to feel protected. And then he let his crystal tears stain the white bed sheets, not even bothering to hide them. _

"_She will be ok…"He heard Miyuki say in a low soft voice before she and Hotaka turned around and left in order to give him some privacy._

_He held her hand tighter as if afraid that she would slip away from him._

"_I won't let anyone hurt you again, I promise." He whispered as more tears stained his cheeks. "I won't let you get hurt again, Hana."_

'In the end, I was the only one who hurt you...' He thought as he exited the Inuzuka compound. '… wasn't I, Hana?'

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She closed her backpack and threw the white box with the lenses in one of the pockets of her vest. She'd wear them once they were outside the village. The last thing she wanted was her father freaking out at the sight of his eldest daughter with black eyes.

She looked over at the clock hanging on the wall.

She sighed. In fifteen minutes she had to be at the front gates.

She opened the small drawer of her nightstand and took a small scroll she'd need for the mission. And as she was about to store the scroll in her backpack, the melodic sound of small metal pieces hitting the ground, rang in her ears.

She let the scroll unconsciously slip from her hand as she looked at the small object that laid there, soundless on the carpeted floor of her room.

She sat down on her knees, taking the small object within her delicate hands.

"_You said that team 8 is over…" She said not looking at him. "And I agree… I don't ever want to see you in my eyes again. None of you…"_

She touched the silver letters of the bracelet with the tips of her fingers.

She stood up again and looked at the bracelet one more time. No, this wasn't her bracelet. It was Kiba's. It was the one that he had thrown angrily on their table at the tea house when she had tried to talk to him.

"_Yes, you're right. I can't understand. "She said with equal anger as tears welled up in her eyes but she held them back. "I can't understand how you became like this! I can't understand how my brother became like this!" She said and Akamaru barked in an attempt to stop them from arguing. Now everyone's eyes were on them. She saw as Kiba took his bracelet from around his wrist and threw it with force on the table they had sat at. "What are you-"_

"_When Kurenai-sensei gave those to us she said it was something that'd represent our friendship and team. Guess there're none of those two anymore, right?" He said with hurt evident in his eyes. He looked at her one last time before he turned around and walked out of the shop with Akamaru right beside him. She slowly extended her hand and took the bracelet Kiba was wearing until only moments ago. And she didn't care that everyone was looking at her as she let the tears run freely down her cheeks. Not sobs or sniffs… just tears and grief._

She looked at the bracelet around her wrist. She hadn't taken it off. Maybe because she couldn't just throw away twelve years of friendship? Maybe because she was too weak to admit that they're team was over? Maybe… maybe because she didn't want everything to be over?

"Team 8 is over…" She mumbled under her breath as if to convince herself that indeed everything was over. But it was, wasn't it?

She threw both bracelets in her backpack, suddenly feeling emptiness overcome her. She looked at her wrist again. It was now so empty, so light… and she didn't like it.

She closed the door of her room behind her, with her backpack in hand. She sighed as she walled through the empty corridor. It would be a long mission.

"Hinata." And then, the corridor was not empty any more. She stopped and turned around to look at the old lady standing a few feet away from her. "Good luck…" Hitomi said. Hinata offered her a soft smile. A smile Hitomi hadn't seen for twelve years.

"Thank you…"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"New mission, huh? Well, that's cool." Izumo said coolly. Kotetsu snorted.

"But of course it is cool! They're going on a mission! A real, dangerous, adventurous, GREAT mission! And what do we get? The most dangerous mission we ever get is to fetch Hokage-sama her slippers!" Kotetsu whined like a bratty chilled. Izumo just rolled his eyes at his best friend's behavior.

"Can you stop acting like a bitch?" Izumo said and Kotetsu fumed in anger.

"Why? Am I wrong? All we ever do is keeping those stupid gates safe and fulfilling Tsunade-sama's whims."

Naruto just shook his head and laughed. Some things never change. Not that he bothered though. It was nice to know that their lives hadn't changed all that much.

He looked at the map Tsunade had given them and sighed. She had asked them to follow another route towards Suna because of the organization ready to attack.

Damn, they sure had a long trip in front of them and thinking of Gaara's request to be there before nightfall the following day, he wondered whether they'd have any time to rest for a couple of hours at night.

He closed the map and stored it in one of the pockets of his vest before he shifted his eyes to look at his two best friends standing a few feet away from him.

Sasuke had enchanted Sakura in a crashing hug trying to get as warm as possible and Sakura was fighting to breath. He chuckled at the scene.

"Hey Naruto…any help here?" Sakura asked through gasps and Naruto chuckled once more. He shook his head.

"Nope." He said teasingly and Sakura gave him an 'I'll kill you' look.

He laughed at the look Sakura was giving him before he sifted his eyes to look at Shino this time. He was leaning against the wall, with his arms crossed over his chest and lost in his thoughts. Shino was never a person to socialize much, but after what had happened a few days back at Kouta's party, he wouldn't even talk.

"Seems like we weren't that late, were we?" He said and Akamaru barked happily beside him. Naruto turned his head to look at him with deep blue eyes holding no emotion towards the dark haired nin he used to call a friend. A barely audible gasp left Kiba's lips at the look Naruto was sending him. And then he remembered…

_He looked at his side and sighed to see that Akamaru wasn't there. He had left him back at the Inuzuka compound for his appointed check up. He sighed again._

_Even if the streets of Konoha were as lively as ever, he felt… alone._

_He walked in front of Ichiraku's and stopped as familiar laughs and voices reached his ears._

_A small smile graced his lips. Maybe he wouldn't feel all that alone soon._

_He opened the door of the ramen bar and stepped inside with his smile widening at the sigh of some of his dear friends. _

_He noticed that Neji had seen him and waved at him but the Hyuga didn't reply the friendly wave. Instead he leaned down and whispered something in Naruto's ear. And then they stopped. The laughs, the chatting… they stopped. _

_He watched as Naruto stood up from his stool and threw some money on the counter to pay for his ramen. He said goodbye to Techi and then turned around and walked past him and out of the ramen shop, with Neji and Sasuke right behind him. And of the three, only Sasuke turned his head and greeted him with a node and a sympathetic look._

_He ran out of the shop. He wanted to know what was going on._

"_Naruto!" He called after him but the Uzumaki didn't stop. "Naruto, wait up!" He shouted again but received no reaction from Konoha's hero who kept walking away and ignoring him. He ran faster, feeling the air stack in his lungs. And then he did it. He grabbed his blond haired friend's shoulder and he stopped. They all stopped. Naruto didn't turn around to look at him though. Kiba raised and eyebrow at his behavior. What the heck was going on here? "What's up with you?" Kiba asked, still fighting to catch his breath. Naruto didn't speak a world though. A sigh of anger and exasperation left Kiba's lips. "Hey! I'm talking to you, Naruto!"_

"_Kiba, I don't think this is a good idea." Sasuke said in a serious voice. It wasn't a threat though. It was a warning of how Naruto would react. Kiba paid him no mind though._

"_Naruto! Answer me damn it!" Kiba said angrily. Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Why are you acting so strange? It is pretty annoying you know!" _

_And then it happened. Naruto turned around in a flash and grabbed Kiba by the collar of his shirt. He looked at him with eyes angry and furious. That was it. Kiba had taken it too far._

"_Am __**I**__ the one who's acting strange? Am __**I **__the one who's annoying?" Naruto shouted at him, not even caring about the people who had started gathering around them, caught up with the fight between the two friends. He couldn't care less though. "How can you be so cool after all that you've done? How can you act as if nothing has happened?" _

"_I didn't do a thing!" Kiba protested angrily, but he knew he was lying. In truth, he was even lying to himself and he knew it. He knew what he had done. He had lost his two best friends. He had hurt his sister's feelings, but he was trying to convince himself that what he had done was for the best. He was trying to convince himself that what he had done was to protect his sister. But they were all lies. Lies he told to himself in order to get rid of that heavy feeling in his heart that didn't seem to go away. And as Naruto punched him and he fell on the ground, whipping away the blood from his bruised lips, he was sure that he would never be able to convince himself with lies and fake promises. He was finally sure that he would never be able to get rid of that heavy feeling in his heart. _

_He looked up to see the angry deep blue eyes of his friend and rival, looking down at him. And then all anger left from his eyes and all that was left was disappointment._

"_You broke her." Naruto said in a low calm voice and Kiba's eyes widened in shock. He knew who Naruto was talking about. He had broken her hadn't he? His best friend… Hinata. He had broken Hinata. His eyes saddened as memories emerged._

_He shifted his eyes to look at the two males standing near Naruto. Sasuke was giving him a sympathetic look as if saying 'sorry'. He mentally chuckled. It was funny how much the Uchiha had changed. Of course he would still be a brat, but that didn't mean that he hadn't become a totally different person. Then he looked at Neji and shuddered at the cold stare the Hyuga was giving him. He was angrier than Naruto was, he knew. After everything that had happened four nights ago at Kouta's party, he was sure that Hyuga Neji wanted to kill him. And then he turned his head to look at the crowd that had gathered around them. Men, women, children, elders… and three people he knew ever since he was a child._

_Dark brown eyes met light lavender ones and he realized. He had really broken her. He watched as Ino laid her hand on Hinata's shoulder as if to give her the courage she was lacking at the moment. Shikamaru sighed beside her and closed his eyes for a moment. He then shook his head. The whole issue had gone too far._

_She just stood there and looked at him, her eyes holding no hint of emotion towards him. They were just… empty._

_The people around them started to whisper. Some cursed, some ignored, some started to chat, some were already spreading rumors about what had happened and some… some just didn't care. Like Hinata._

_He watched as she walked towards Naruto and took his hand in hers. She raised her head and looked at him as if saying 'Please, that's enough' and he slowly nodded his head as a reply, with his facial characteristics softening a bit. And then they disappeared. Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, Naruto… Hinata. They just walked way from him without even sparring him a second look._

_And as the crowd around him slowly disappeared as well, bored by the lack of 'entertainment', he just stayed there- sitting on the ground. _

_A shadow loomed over him but he didn't raise his head to see who it was as he already knew. A long bitter chuckle left his lips as the other young man standing before him extended his hand to help him up. _

_He just stood up on himself, denying any kind of help from the person he used to call a brother. He turned around and was about to leave until the other man spoke up._

"_We're both at fault in this situation, Kiba…" He said and Kiba chuckled again. He looked at the man over his shoulder, offering him a smug smile on the process._

"_For the first time in our lives, we agree in something, Shino" Kiba said and walked away._

"Sorry to be late." A soft apologetic voice reached his ears and his eyes widened a bit. Oh yeah, they were going on the same mission. He had totally forgotten about that.

"Actually you're seven minutes early, Hinata!" Sakura said with a small laugh.

She walked past him without sparring him a single glance as if he was invisible, as if he didn't even exist. Not that he could blame her though.

He turned his head to see a small smile form on Naruto's lips as his deep blue eyes were looking intently at the woman he loved the most.

He smirked. It was a pity that with all this situation, he was in the verge of cutting any kind of ties with Naruto as well. If nothing had happened, then this would be a nice mission and he would be able to tease Naruto about the affection he would show towards Hinata. It would be fun.

"Won't you wear them?" He heard Sakura ask Hinata and his eyes fell on her once more. She shrugged her shoulders as a reply. She didn't know what to do or maybe she knew what to do, but she simply didn't want to. "You remember what Tsunade-sama said, right? You promised her that you would wear them." Sakura said and he heard Hinata sigh.

"I just don't think this is right." Hinata said. It wasn't just that she didn't want to hide who she was. It was that she didn't want to accept that the organization was after the Hyuga clan and by hiding her eyes, it would be as if she was accepting the fate of her family.

"It is for your safety." Kiba said all of a sudden and all eyes fell on him at once. And after many days of avoiding him, she finally looked at him again, with eyes not filled with emptiness but confusion. Then she looked elsewhere again.

"He's right." Sakura said after a moment, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them. "At least wear them until we reach Suna. Then you can take them off." She said with a small smile. Hinata seemed to be thinking about it but then nodded her head.

"Ok" She said in a low soft voice and opened the small white box she had in her hands. She sighed before she finally wore them and closed her eyes. She sighed again as she slowly opened her now midnight black eyes, eyes darker than even Sasuke's. She shifted her eyes and looked at Naruto. He smiled in return. To him nothing had changed.

"Let's go!" Naruto said and smiled, but Kiba wasn't dump. He knew that Naruto's smile was only for her.

Kiba smiled. At least some things were going well.

0o00o0o0o00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She leaned against the kitchen counter as she waited for the water to boil. She shifted her light brown pupil-less eyes to look at the small round clock hanging from the wall across her.

She inhaled deeply as if to calm herself down. She then looked at the teapot resting on the counter beside her. Yeah it was too early to drink tea, but at the moment this seemed the only thing that would be able to calm her down even a little.

She turned around to look outside the small window of the kitchen. She smiled at the lively streets of Konoha. So many people were going on with their lives, despite all the sadness they faced during the 4th world war. And now, after two years, she could tell for sure that all those people were happy.

Her smile slowly disappeared and that heavy feeling started building up once more.

All those people…

She balled her hands into tight fists as she let a tear of frustration roll down her cheek. It was so unfair. Why did someone have to mess up with their lives again?

_She left her pen on her wooden desk and sighed with a smile of relief gracing her lips for the first time that same night._

_She fell back on her chair and looked at Shizune with her smile never living her lips._

"_Finally this damn paperwork is over!" Tsunade said and Shizune smiled._

"_We worked really hard, so it was only a matter of time we would have all the paperwork finished." Shizune replied. She watched as Tsunade poured some shake into two glasses and offered her the one of the two. She looked at the glass for a moment before taking a small sip. She narrowed her eyes in thought._

"_What's with the troubled face Shizune?" Tsunade asked her confused. _

"_Tsunade-sama, don't you think it is kind of strange how Kakashi-san and Anko-san are yet to return from their mission?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow at that. She couldn't deny that Kakashi's and Anko's delay had worried her greatly. Of course, it wasn't like they had been missing for weeks. She had given them 3 days to fulfil the mission and now, five days later, they were yet to return. She chuckled. If Jiraiya was still alive, if he was here with her, then he would probably start laughing like an idiot and then he would tell her that she was overreacting. Not that she would blame him though. She had to trust Kakashi and Anko. After all, it might just took them a couple more days to fulfil the mission, but still… wouldn't they have sent a message to inform her?_

_She raised her eyes to look at Shizune again. She opened her mouth, ready to give her an answer but then…_

_The door of her office suddenly flung open and both she and Shizune immediately stood up in shock._

_Anko was standing by the door, panting and supporting an unconscious and drenched in blood Kakashi. She was covered in bruises, scratches and dirt from their mission and she was … she was crying. Endlessly crying. _

_The two medic nins ran towards them at once. They laid Kakashi on the floor and started healing him at once._

"_Anko! What happened?" Tsunade asked her but didn't shift her eyes to look at her as she was too occupied healing the Hatake. Anko didn't answer though. She fell on her knees beside Kakashi's unconscious body and kept crying. Shizune was throwing her worried glances from time to time as Tsunade still waited for a reply. Never had she seen the Mitarashi like that again. "Damn! That wound on his stomach is deeper than I imagined!" Tsunade said and Anko's eyes widened in shock._

"_W-w-what?" Anko shuttered out and Shizune's eyes widened in shock. Well… that was totally unexpected. It was understandable for someone to fear over his or her comrade's situation even if they were kind of enemies, much like Anko and Kakashi, but for Anko to react like this… Shizune was sure that Anko had seen many of her comrades not only get heavily injured but even die. But now she reacted way too bad for someone she practically hated. It was strange. She acted as if she and Kakashi… no… no that couldn't be. _

"_Shizune! Call for help! We need to take Kakashi to the hospital before it's too late!" Tsunade said, ignoring Anko's reaction to what she had said before._

"_Hai, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune said immediately and stood up. She looked at Anko once more and then ran out of the room. _

"_Tsunade-sama, I don't understand! What's going on? Is he going to be ok? He won't die, will he?" Anko asked her through her tears._

"_Calm down Anko! What's wrong with you?" Tsunade snapped at her. She sighed. "As I said his wound is deeper than I thought. He has lost a lot of blood and I'm afraid that there might be vital organs that got hit as well." She said in a calmer voice. She looked at Anko, whose teras didn't seem to subsidize at all. "Will you tell me what happened?" Anko sighed._

"_We carried out the mission as you told us. We found and followed them to see what their plans where. They took notice of us though. They attacked us. They were four. From what we understood they are always in groups of four of which the one is always a healer. Anyway, they were immature, not more than 19 year olds, two boys and one girl. We captured them, or we though we captured them." She said and her eyes narrowed in anger._

"_What happened?"_

"_Seems like they had a backup plan. They suddenly escaped and attacked us again. Don't ask me how. I don't even now that myself." Anko said and sighed again. "We heavily injured the two of them and broke a couple of ribs of the other two. But in the end the still managed to get away."_

"_How did Kakashi end up like that?" Tsunade asked and that's when Anko sobbed, unable to hold back her sadness and pain._

"_One of the two males of the team, he tried to hit me but… but Kakashi stepped in front of me and took at hit for me. " She sobbed again. Tsunade looked at her with eyes filled with understatement. Anko felt guilty, she knew. They stayed quiet as she kept healing him until help would come to take him to the hospital. Tsunade wanted to tell her something in an attempt to feel better. She was trying to find some words of consolation, but she couldn't. If Kakashi died, things would get tougher for Anko to bare. You see, Tsunade was not stupid. She had figured a long time ago that Anko and Kakashi felt anything but hate for each other, unlike any one else in Konoha who thought the two to be rivals. _

_She turned her head and looked at the violet haired jonin for a moment. And as she opened her mouth to let those words of consolation slip out, healers ran inside her office, ready to carry Kakashi to the hospital. She then looked at the Hatake for a second. Maybe… maybe if they hurried, then Anko wouldn't have to go through the pain that she herself had gone through when she lost Dan. _

She felt two strong yet gentle arms encircle her and she smiled

"You shouldn't be getting up from bed, you know." She said and he chuckled before he leaned down to kiss her neck.

"I'm fine." He said softly. She turned around in their embrace and pointed at his bandaged abdomen.

"This doesn't look like fine to me." She said in a playful yet strict tone. He smiled at her. She worried so much for him. Gemna and Kotetsu would always say how it would drive them crazy when a woman worried too much for them. He liked it though. It made him feel important to her. It made him feel loved by her. And he felt the same for her with no restrictions. "Seriously now Kakashi. You could have died you know. You can't get up from bed whenever you want when you still Hvw to lie down and rest in order to allow your wound to heal properly."

"Well, If I had died then you wouldn't have the stupid Hatake Kakashi over your head, would you Mitarashi-san?" He said teasingly and he couldn't help but laugh a little at Anko's expression. She slapped his upper arm playfully. She narrowed her eyes.

"Baka Hatake, don't joke around with stuff like that." She said with faked anger, but she smiled when he leaned down and kissed her cheek. He always made her feel so… unique. She loved him very much to say the least. She hugged him and he chuckled again. He had worried her a lot all those days ago.

_She was pacing non stop in front of the surgery room. She was holding her hands above her heart as prayers where leaving her lips. She was praying. Praying for God to save the life of the one she loved the most._

_And with every pray she'd say, a tear would roll down her cheeks. And believe me, she had said many prayers._

_The doors of the surgery room opened and Tsunade and Shizune stepped out. Anko raised her head to look at them at once, with eyes filled with fear and sadness and hope. _

"_How is he?" She hesitantly asked. Tsunade sighed and Anko's heart skipped a bit as her breath hitched in her throat. None of the two women answered and as moments filled with silence went by, she cried more and more. "Is he dead?" She asked with fear evident in her voice. Tsunade raised her head and smiled at her._

"_He's alive. He'll be ok." Tsunade said with her smile never leaving her red lips. "He's asleep at the moment, but it is only a matter of time until he wakes up."_

"_Yokatta!" She said in relief as a wide happy smile graced her lips. "Yokatta!" She said again as she brushed away her tears with the back of her hand. She raised her eyes to look at her Hokage and now the tears coming from her eyes were not tears of sadness but tears of joy. "Thank you Tsunade –sama. You too Shizune."_

"_Don't mention it." Tsunade said with a smile and Shizune nodded her head in agreement. "I'll go check him into a room. Once I do so, you can go and see him." She said and Anko nodded her head before the Hokage turned around and walked inside the surgery room once more._

_And that's when she felt it. Her head started spinning and she felt dizziness overcome her. She clutched her head as if to stop all the dizziness, but it proved to be in vain. She missed her step and leaned against the nearby wall to support her self from falling right then and there. _

"_Anko-san, are you ok?" Shizune asked worried, but as soon as she reached her, Anko collapsed. "Anko-san! Anko-san!"_

"Anko" He said in a low soft voice. She raised her head and look lovingly into his eyes. He smiled.

"Yes?" She asked him and he seemed to hesitate a little, too nervous to tell her what he wanted. He quickly searched in the pockets of his pants until he finally found what he wanted. He closed the tiny object within his fist and looked at her as if waiting for her to read his mind. "Kakashi? What's wrong?" She asked him, but he did not answer. Instead he kept looking intently into her eyes. She raised an eyebrow at that. What was going on? She then looked at his closed fist. "What do you have in your hand?" She took his hand in hers and slowly opened it. What she saw laying in his palm though, was definitely not what she had expected. She took the ring in her hand. She was shocked. "What is this?" He smiled.

"Will you marry me?" He said and her eyes widened in shock.

"What? I mean… **WHAT**?" She asked him in absolute shock. Well, that sure was something she didn't expect. She watched as he nervously scratched the back of his head and a small smile graced her lips. Seems like even the renowned Kakashi Hatake was nervous of proposing to the woman he loved.

"Sorry to sudden you like that. I didn't want to push you or anything. It's just that I… I love you and I want everyone to know about it. I don't want to keep it a secret anymore. I'm sick of hiding and I do not just want to be with you for now. I want to be with you for ever… as your husband and you… you as my wife. I'll understand if you don't want to rush-"She hugged him and he slowly embraced her with a smirk slowly crossing his face.

"Is that a yes?" He asked her teasingly and she slapped his upper arm playfully again.

"It's a yes… Baka Hatake." She said with the smile never leaving her lips. He took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes before he slowly leaned in and captured her lips in a soft loving kiss.

_She slowly opened her eyes and utter confusion was the only thing she felt. 'White walls, white curtains, white sheets… where am I?' She thought as she rubbed her head as if to get rid of that stupid headache. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was that she had started feeling dizzy and then… Oh wait! Had she collapsed? 'Great! Just great!' She thought and sighed._

_As if on cue the door opened to reveal a very surprised Shizune. _

"_Anko-san, you're finally awake! I'm so glad!" Shizune said with a soft smile and walked towards Anko's bed._

"_I'm in the hospital, aren't I?" Anko said and Shizune nodded her head. "How long was I out cold like that?"_

"_One and a half day. We thought that it was all because of the exhaustion and your small wounds and it was true, but there was also something else." Shizune said and Anko looked at her confused._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Well, how can I put this…" Anko seemed hesitant for a moment. Well that was strange. "You… you are pregnant Anko-san!" Shizune said with a smile and Anko's eyes widened in shock._

"_I'M WHAT?" _

"_Calm down Anko-san, stress is not good for your baby." Shizune said in an attempt to calm Anko down and it seemed to work. Anko relaxed a bit and a small smile graced her lips. She touched her flat belly and her smile widened in the thought that she had a child in there._

"_Are you sure?" Anko asked and Shizune nodded her head again._

"_Yes I'm sure. Tsunade-sama herself examined you. You're five weeks along to be precise." Anko smiled again. "Can I ask you a question Anko-san?" Shizune asked and Anko nodded her head with a smile. "Is Kakashi-san the father of your child?"_

"_How do you-"_

"_After she examined you and found out that you are pregnant, Tsunade-sama told me that she had understood that something was going on between you and Kakashi-san." Shizune said and Anko chuckled. "Is it true?"_

"_Yes, it is true." Anko said and Shizune smiled. She was happy for the two. Knowing how both Anko and Kakashi were most of their lives alone, having lost family and friends, it was nice to hear that they had find their other half in each other's eyes._

_She was about to say something, express her gladness and congratulate Anko when voices from outside the room caught both women's attention._

"_Tsunade sama , is she ok? Is Anko hurt? I want to see her!" _

"_Kakashi Hatake! You're hurt! Go back to bed now!"_

_Anko's eyes widened in shock._

"_Kakashi? Is he awake?" Anko asked and Shizune smiled yet again._

"_He woke up this morning." Shizune said and Anko's eyes lit up with joy. Shizune turned to look at the closed door as she heard swift footsteps coming towards the room. "Kakashi-san will be so happy when he finds out that you are pregnant." That's when Anko came to an unexpected realization. What if Kakashi didn't want children? What if he thought it was too early? Or maybe… what if she wasn't the woman he wanted to have children with?_

_The footsteps were coming closer and her heart started beating faster. Someone took hold of the doorknob and as the door started slowly opening, she grabbed Shiune's hand to get her attention. Shizune immediately turned and looked at her, with eyes confused._

"_What is-" The door was opening, slowly revealing a tall figure with hair like silver. _

"_Shizune… not a word." She quickly whispered and Shizune understood. Anko didn't want Kakashi to know about the pregnancy. She nodded her head in understatement. Anko's secret was safe with her._

"_Anko! Are you ok?" Kakashi asked worriedly as he ran towards her and hugged her tightly. And as he hugged her, she looked at Shizune and then closed her eyes for a moment. A baby… _

_What was she supposed to do?_

"Kakashi… I was wondering. Why didn't you tell anything to your former students? Don't you think that they have the right to know you were hospitalized? I saw you at Kouta's birthday party. We were pretending as if the mission was something that even a kid could do when in reality I almost lost you." Anko said and Kakashi's eyes saddened a bit.

"I do not want to worry them. I don't think it is important anymore. I'm fine now so what's they point in worrying them over it?" He said and Anko sighed. He hugged her closer, as if afraid that she would slip away from him. To be honest, he was right. There was no reason worrying them over something that had passed, but again she thought they had to know. She left the thought aside though. Kakashi would do whatever he thought was right.

She suddenly heard him chuckle and she raised her head to look at him confused.

"What's so funny?"

"You won't believe what Gemna told me yesterday…" He said and chuckled again.

"What did he tell you?"

"His wife is pregnant with their second child." He said and she smiled.

"Really? That's wonderful!" She said with a grin, but he shook his head.

"Yeah it is wonderful. I mean… It's nice having children, but to have children now…" He said, his face becoming serious all of a sudden.

"I don't understand. What's so wrong with having children now? I'm sure that both Gemna and his wife are more than just happy to become parents again." She protested and he shook his head again.

"Of course they're more than happy. They're delighted, but personally I think it is wrong for anyone to have children now. Look around you. Tsunade may not want to admit it, but we're already preparing for a new war. What if Gemna dies? He will leave two orphans behind. Two children without a father and believe me I know quiet well how hard it is to grow up without a father. But letting the father issue aside, in what kind of world are these children supposed to grow up into? We don't know how long the war will last. It may take a day, a week or a month, but what if it takes years for the war to end? Personally, I would never allow my child to grow up into a world full of war." He said with a steady calm voice and she nodded her head. She had to admit… he was right. He leaned down and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "I'll go and take a shower." He said softly and she nodded her head again with a fake smile plastered on her face. He smiled back, not understanding how fake her smile was. And as he disappeared behind the closed bathroom door, a single crystal tear started rolling down her cheek as she unconsciously laid her hand over her flat belly. She still hadn't told him she was pregnant and now, she wondered if she would master up the courage to ever tell him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"I can't believe that Yugao-sensei is late." Hanabi rolled her eyes at that, but didn't answer. Instead, she kept lazily throwing shuriken on the target in front of her as Keigo kept whining and Michio was sleeping under the shade of an old tree. "I mean, we've been waiting for almost two hours now and where is she? Oh Gooooood I can't believe she is an Anbu, yet she can't arrive on time for a training session with her team. It is very annoying how-"

"Ohhh, shut the hell up already! The only annoying thing here is YOU!" Hanabi shouted at him angrily. Keigo really knew how to get on her nerves at times. He narrowed his slate-grey eyes at her.

"Can you guys stop for a moment? I'm trying to sleep here…" Michio murmured, still half asleep. Hanabi and Keigo didn't seem to pay him any mind though.

"You shut up! I'm not annoying! I'm just pointing the obvious!" Keigo protested angrily and Hanabi snorted, giving him a 'you're kidding me right?' look.

"Pointing the obvious? You've been bitching around for the past half hour!"

"At least I've been doing something, unlike you!" He snapped at her and her eyebrows furrowed even more if that was possible.

"It is called training, you moron!"

"Training? You didn't even hit a spot!" She gritted her teeth at him and he growled at her. She fumed in anger at what he had told her. She quickly took one of her shuriken and threw it at him. He turned and stared in shock at the shuriken that had hit the tree behind him.

"ARE YOU NUTS? YOU COULD HAVE HIT ME!" He yelled at her and she smirked as she took a kunai and started swirling it around her index finger.

"Believe me, if I wanted to hit you I would have." He narrowed his eyes even more than before, but only for a moment as his facial characteristics then relaxed. He offered her a full of sarcasm smile and then snorted.

"Yeah right." He said sarcastically and she immediately stopped swirling the kunai around her finger.

"What was that?" She asked him and he snorted again.

"Come on Hanabi, you think you're so great? You wouldn't even be able to come near me. I have better reflexes and I'm faster than you after all." She chuckled at that.

"_Yeah. Right._" She said, mimicking him. She then laughed. "You didn't even see my shuriken coming. Your reflexes suck." That's it! Hanabi had taken it too far! Keigo was always very proud of his strength, to the point of arrogance at times. He wasn't a bad boy though and neither was his relationship with Hanabi like that all of the time. This was just one of their regular arguments which most of the time ended up with them fighting, Yugao trying to stop them and with Michio either peacefully sleeping or just paying them no mind. It was something like their everyday routine.

Keigo smirked and gave her a 'let's fight then' look. Hanabi shook her head and smirked back. She was definitely not going to loose from the likes of Keigo though she doubted whether any of them would win their match, none of them ever won any ways. You see, every time they had a fight, either Yugao would stop them in time or they would both fall exhausted to the ground and this match would probably be no difference.

They both took their fighting stances with mischievous grins on their faces. Hanabi activated her byakugan and Keigo was about to perform some hand seals when…

"Keigo! Hanabi! That's enough!" The both turned to look at the owner of the serious feminine voice, with disappointed looks on their faces.

"Here goes my fun…" Hanabi murmured and deactivated her byakugan.

"Nice timing, sensei…" Keigo said with a voice laced with both sarcasm and disappointment. Yugao just shook her head at that. She still didn't know why she had chosen to train a team. She was still an Anbu of course and that made things even harder for her, but it didn't matter much to her. Yes, her students were a pain in the ass, but she didn't regret it one bit for taking them as her students. She heard a yawn from her right and turned to see Michio rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, you came Yugao –sensei!" He said in his always calm voice. She smiled at him in response.

"Wait! Don't tell me that you were sleeping the WHOLE TIME!" Hanabi and Keigo said in unison and Michio looked at them confused as he stood up.

"Yeah… why?" Hanabi rolled her eyes at that. Really now, she and Keigo were shouting like crazy and he still managed to keep sleeping without any problem?

Michio rubbed his light green eyes again as if in an attempt to get rid of this sleepy feeling he always seemed to have. And Hanabi couldn't help but notice how much Michio and Shikamaru were so alike, yet so different. Of course they had nothing in common as of appearance, but when it came to personality, they had many in common.

Michio was a genius, but he had to try very hard for it. Now, don't get that all confused look on your face, I'll explain everything. You see, Michio was always naturally very smart but unlike Shikamaru, he always had to study hard in order to get smarter and unlike Shikamaru, he wasn't all that lazy. I recall that last one. He was very lazy.

Unlike Hanabi and Keigo, Michio was neither too strong nor too fast. He had neither super eyes nor great reflexes, but he sure was a fantastic healer and one of the few male at that. The Hokage herself had consumed a special interest in Keigo throughout the years, often offering to teach him farther about healing much like she had done with Shizune and Sakura.

Sakura would always say that Tsunade had this special interest for Keigo simply because she reminded her of her long lost lover, Dan. And Hanabi had to agree that maybe all of what Sakura said may have not just been rush conclusions like Hinata would always say. Maybe Sakura was actually right. She had never given it much thought though. It was none of her business interfering with personal matters of her Hokage.

"So, why were you so late, sensei?" Keigo asked her, curious to know what had happened. She smiled nervously at him. Keigo sighed at that. "That nervous smile only means one thing then…"

"…You either peed your pants…" Michio said, still rubbing his eyes and yawning from time to time.

"… or you did something that we will not be very happy for." Hanabi continued. "I guess it's the second."

"That's right. I did something and… ehhh… well, let's say that it won't be pleasant for you at all." She said with a playful smirk and her three students groaned, looking at her with 'what did you do this time?' looks. She chuckled. What a great team she had.

That's when the answer to their questioning looks, fell from the sky. And I mean it. It or maybe they like literally fell from the sky.

Out of nowhere three figures landed right in front of them and their eyes widened in surprise. The three genin looked at the three 13 year olds that had landed right in front of them with wide smirks on their faces. Hanabi and Keigo furrowed their eyebrows in annoyance and Michio just rolled his eyes at the scene. 'Not again…' He thought and sighed.

"Konohamaru, what a nice surprise." Hanabi sarcastically said through gritted teeth. He smirked again. He was getting on her nerves with only his presence there and he was enjoying every single part of it.

"What a nice surprise, indeed." He said with equal sarcasm in his voice and she fumed. He chuckled.

"Still pretending to be tough, I see Moegi." Keigo said and she narrowed her black eyes at him.

"Still being a useless jackass like always, right Keigo?" She said with a smirk and he chuckled, trying to play it cool and not land a kick at her. Ohhh, how he hated her.

"Udon." Michio simply said in greeting to the dark haired boy standing before him. Udon nodded his head in reply.

"Michio." He simply said as well. Those two seemed to be the only ones from the two teams that didn't want to kick-punch-hurt-ridicule-kill the other one. They simply didn't care about the 'rivalry' between Team Ebisu and Team Yugao.

Hanabi turned to look at her sensei who had the nerves to laugh at the whole scene. To be honest she found it very amusing to see them arguing like five year olds. If only she had some popcorn with her.

"Why are they here, sensei?" Hanabi asked her suspiciously and everyone stopped talking, waiting for an answer.

"Well, I had a talk with Ebisu and he told me that he will be away for three weeks on a mission and his team will be left without a sensei for this period." Yugao explained.

"And why should we care?" Hanabi asked her and Yugao just shook her head with a sigh. 'Ohh Gooooooood, why can't they get the point already' Yugao thought.

"You three among with Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon, will be a team for the next three weeks." She said and her three students gasped.

"WHAT?" Hanabi and Keigo shouted in unison. Michio didn't say a thing, feeling too sleepy to intervene in an argument at the moment. No that he minded if team Ebisu would train and go on missions with them for the next three weeks. To be honest, he was totally indifferent on the issue.

"Sensei-" Hanabi was about to protest , but Yugao suddenly raised her hand to the height of her neck, motioning for her student to stop talking.

"Look, I don't care if you agree with this or not. I don't care if you have issues with team Ebisu. This is a matter of necessity and it is not possible for genins to be left without a sensei for so long. For the next three weeks you will train together and learn to cooperate well with one another for the shake of the missions. " Yugao said.

"But-" Hanabi tried to protest again.

"No buts! If you don't learn to work with one another then I'll tell Tsunade not to give you three any kind of missions for the next three months! Is that understood?" Yugao said and her three students nodded their heads in defeat.

Hanabi shifted her eyes and looked at Konohamaru who was smiling victoriously at her. What a brat he was!

An evil smirk graced her lips. Well, he was stupid if he thought that she would give up that easily.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Some of them were hoping from tree to tree while others were running on the ground below them. They were moving fast, not letting a second go to waste.

She was one of those hoping from branch to branch, feeling the cold wind furiously hit her face. No that she complained though. In truth, she was more than grateful for that cold wind hitting her face. It was helping her subsidize that extreme heat that had overpowered her.

"God, it is really cold." She heard Sakura say from below them. What? Cold? She wished she could actually feel the cold. It was as if her body was on fire or as if she was sick and had some kind of fever.

"Oi, Hinata! Don't you think you're overusing your byakugan?" Kiba shouted for her to hear from below. She shifted her eyes to look at him, but only for a moment. She didn't answer. He was right though. She had been using her byakugan for many hours now and the sun had already started to set now. Maybe that was the reason she was feeling all that heat. She had probably started to worn herself out. She wouldn't deactivate her byakugan though. She'd rather fall unconscious because of exhaustion than set the others in danger. Yes, both Kiba and Shino would be able to spot any kind of danger as well, but she would be able to find any kind of enemies sooner with the byakugan.

'Kiba… Shino' She stole a couple of glances at them again, but for her luck, they hadn't seen her. Her eyes saddened. It was so uncomfortable being in the same mission with them after everything that had happened. And it wasn't just that the whole issue made her sad, it was also that the whole hypocrisy was making her angry. Angry with them for causing all this trouble. Angry with herself for putting up with it. Angry with herself that she couldn't save their friendship. Maybe the Hyuga Elders were right. Maybe she truly was useless.

She felt her eyes sting and she rubbed them in an attempt to alleviate them a bit. She looked up at the sky and watched as the warm colors slowly turned into dark blue and black. The beauty of nature was truly something to behold. It brought back memories.

"_Look mommy! Look at the sky! Isn't it beautiful?" The small five year old girl shouted enthusiastically. The woman beside her smiled an angelic smile and a pink shade tainted the small girl's cheeks. _

"_Yes sweetheart, it is beautiful." The woman agreed and the girl grinned. "Do you know why the colors are slowly changing when the sun sets, Hinata?" The woman said and the little girl looked at her with anticipation. The woman took her daughter's tiny hand in hers and looked at her lovingly. She then shifted her eyes to look up at the endless sky. "Look up at the sky Hinata." The woman said softly and the young girl immediately shifted her eyes to look up at the sky. "Do you see the sun that is slowly hiding behind those mountains over there?"_

"_Yes! Yes! I see!" Her mother smiled at her. _

"_And do you see the moon up there?" She pointed up and her daughter followed where she was pointing and nodded her head. "The sun is the warm father and the moon is the sweet caring mother of the sky." She said and Hinata looked at her confused. "Sun, the father, warms and protects his child during the day and moon, the mother, slowly covers the sky with a blue-black veil in order to protect it when the father has to go away." _

"_Really?" The young girl said and her face beamed with enthusiasm._

"_Really." An old caring voice came and both mother and daughter turned to look at the person behind them. The old woman smiled. "I'm surprised that you still remember this story Hikari." The younger woman smiled up at her mother._

"_But of course mom." Hikari said with a smile. "How could I forget?" Hitomi smiled back as Hinata looked at the two women confused. Hikari giggled as she shifted her eyes to look at her young daughter._

"_Now now, don't look at us like that Hinata. You'll understand when you grow up." Hikari said._

"_But why is that story so important?" Hinata asked them innocently. The two older women exchanged some quick knowing looks. What were they hiding?_

"_This story… this story has a deeper meaning. A meaning that will help you a lot later. But I'm not going to tell you what it is. You'll have to find it on your own as you grow up." Hikari said and smiled softly at her._

"_But what if I can't find it?" Hinata said and her mother offered her a very special smile. She didn't know what it meant, but she was sure that she would never she such a smile again. She couldn't understand it back then, but that was a goodbye. And people said goodbye only once. Thus she never saw that smile again._

"_You will find it." Hikari gently before she leaned closer and planted a very soft and light kiss on her daughter's forehead. "It's your destiny." She whispered to her as the mother of the sky covered it completely with her black-blue veil, protecting her child from any harm. _

She rubbed her eyes again in an attempt to stop them from stinging so bad. She kept looking forward as she touched the back of her neck. It was burning her.

She took off her cloak and held it in her hand as she kept moving as fast as possible. She couldn't bare that heat any more.

"Hinata! What are you doing? Why did you take off your cloak? Are you crazy? It's freezing out here!" Sakura shouted from below them. She shifted her eyes and looked at her in despair. She needed help. She couldn't bare it any longer. It was as if every fiber of her being was on fire. Her flesh was burning, her eyes were stinging. What the hell was going on?

"I just can't bare that heat any longer Sakura!" Breathing had started to seem like a marathon now. She felt her body sweat under her jonin uniform, but she didn't stop neither did she deactivate her byakugan.

Sakura was looking at her dumbstruck. "Heat?" She mumbled under her breath.

"_Sakura, I want you to take great care of Hinata on this mission." Sakura looked at Tsunade confused as she stood in the middle of her Hokage's office. Everyone else had already left, packing for their mission but Tsunade wanted to inform her on something before she went to get ready as well._

"_What do you mean, Tsunade-sama?" The Hokage sighed._

"_The lenses I gave her might cause some problems." Tsunade said and Sakura looked at her confused._

"_Problems?"_

_You know how I was the one that made the lenses many years ago and you know what their use is like. It was one of the first things I taught you, but I didn't teach you everything about them." She took a scroll from within a drawer and opened it in front of her to see. "This scroll explains how the chakra eye lenses work. They were mostly created for people who wanted to hide the fact that their eyes were special from the others, like those who possess the byakugan, the Sharigan, the rinengan and so on. They are not just usual lenses though. The one who wears them can also activate his bloodline from underneath the lenses without making his identity known to the enemy." Tsunade explained and Sakura nodded her head in understanding._

"_I know. You told me about this before."_

"_Yes but I never told you about this." Tsunade said as she opened another smaller scroll for Sakura to see._

"_What are thes-"_

"_These are the results from the tests I made all those years back. Here are the lists of all those who accepted to try and wear the lenses and what effect they had on them." Tsunade explained. Sakura took the small scroll in her hands and her eyes widened in shock at the very first name on the list._

"_Itachi Uchiha?"_

"_Yes, Itachi was one of the first to contribute in my research fourteen years ago. But I think that there'll be more than one name that you'll recognize in that list." Sakura shifted her eyes on the scroll again, scanning for the names of people she knew._

"_Hiashi Hyuga, Akio Hyuga, Mashushi Hitomi…" She kept reading the names one by one. Names of people she knew, names of people she had never heard of, names of people that belonged to the past as most of them were already one. Everyone had passed the eye lenses test. Everyone except from Yori Sato, a guy from Kusagakure, and Hikari Iyuzuwa. 'FAILED' she read the red capital letters next to their names. "Hinata's mom…" Sakura mumbled under her breath. She raised her head and looked straight into Tsunade's eyes. "I didn't know that Hinata's mom had taken part in your tests."_

"_Hikari was a very open minded person. When I started the tests on those lenses many criticized it, saying that it was immoral for shinobi to hide something as important as their bloodline. Hikari didn't seem to agree though. She supported my research and offered to take part in the tests. She and Itachi were some of the first to take part in them." The Hokage informed her, with pride lacing her voice. Nobody ever really talked about Hikari. It was as if everyone wanted to forget the fact that she once lived, but as Hinata would always say, they didn't do it because they wanted to forget about her. _

'_They don't talk about her because it hurts, not because they want to forget about her. At least, that's what I hope the truth is' Hinata had once said and her words would still ring in her mind. _

"_Why did she fail the tests?" The Hokage wasn't startled by Sakura's question, having totally expected a question like that from her student, but Sakura could tell that she had seen a flash of worry pass through her Hokage's eyes there for a moment. It was as if she had remembered something. As if unwanted memories of the past came to haunt her again. What Sakura didn't know is that it wasn't an unwanted memory what bothered her master. It was a secret. A secret that had been haunting her for years and years and years. A secret that would never be revealed. _

"_She was… sick at the time. She couldn't bare the lenses thus her test was considered a fail." Tsunade hesitantly replied after a moment. Sakura looked at her suspiciously. Tsunade's answer seemed so expectable, so well build, so… fake. Sakura knew for sure that Tsunade was hiding something, but she decided not to take the whole matter any farther and just let it slip. For the moment at least. _

"_What about the other guy? That Yori Sato from Kusagakure" Sakura asked._

"_He was a whole different case. His organism just couldn't bare the lenses." Tsunade said and Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in thought. _

"_What happened?"_

"_It was on a mission when he decided to wear the lenses. He had been having his bloodline activated beneath the lenses for hours. He started sweating, and feeling his flesh burning. His head started to ache, his eyes would blur from time to time and he felt as if he was on fire." Tsunade explained._

"_Like a fever." Sakura said or more like stated._

"_Exactly. His symptoms were by far more severe though. Needless to say that he collapsed in the middle of the mission." Tsunade said and Sakura seemed to be troubled. _

"_Was he ok after that?" Tsunade just shook her head at Sakura's question.._

"_He was in a coma for seventeen days. I my self took care of him."_

"_Did he wake up or did he-"_

"_He woke up, but nothing was the same for him after that." Sakura looked at her confused yet eager to know what had happened. "He was never able to use his bloodline after that again." Sakura's eyes widened in shock. She never thought that the lenses could have such an effect. "He didn't give up though and instead kept being a shinobi. Five years later, I was told that he had died on one of his missions leaving his only son alone." Tsunade turned around and stared out of the window lost in thoughts and memories. "I have to admit, I still feel guilty for what I did to him, because I know it. It was my fault he lost his bloodline and it was my fault he died even if Shizune will always say how it was his choice to take part in the tests." A sigh of melancholy left her lips as guilt was all she felt at the moment. _

"_So, the chances that something like that might happen to a shinobi who wears the lenses, is one in one thousand, right?" Sakura said, wanting to somehow change the subject. Tsunade slowly nodded her head in reply._

"_Yes. The chance that something like this might happen is 0,1%." She said "I don't know why this happens though. It might be because of exhaustion or overuse of the bloodline, but I know one thing for sure." Tsunade turned and looked at Sakura over her shoulder. "If you recognize any of these symptoms on Hinata, you'd better do something immediately or else I do not know what may happen to her. Out of all the one thousand shinobis that took part in those tests, Yori Sato was the only one who faced problems with the lenses. None of the Hyugas faced problems and all of them passed the tests with great ease. In other words, if Hinata belongs to that 0.1%, I can't tell how her organism will deal with the whole situation. Those lenses might seem innocent, but Sakura, they can't only take someone's bloodline away. They can be fatal."_

Her byakugan deactivated on its own and her vision went blur at once. She didn't have time to panic though as she felt her legs go weak. She felt her breath hitch in her throat and she clutched the fabric of her shirt in despair as she kept fighting for air. The clock fell from her hands and hit the muddy ground bellow her. And then her legs were just too weak to keep her standing. She fell.

"HINATA!" Sakura's scream echoed in her ears as she got ready to hit the ground. But she didn't She never did.

She slowly opened her eyes and those crystal blue orbs were the first thing she saw.

"Naruto." She said through gasps with her eyes never leaving his worried ones. A very weak, almost invisible, smile graced her lips. Seems like Naruto was her guardian angel, always keeping her from falling. Under other conditions, she would have blushed at the loving and caring way he was holding her at the moment.

"Naruto lie her down. I need to examine her." Sakura said as she ran towards the two with everyone else following behind. Naruto instinctively tighten his hold on her for a moment before he finally helped her lie down against a tree trunk. He never left her side though.

Sakura kneeled beside her as cold sweat started running down her forehead. She was scared. Scared of what may happen to her friend and the fact that Tsunade's words kept repeating themselves in her mind, didn't help much.

She helped Hinata take off the lenses, her light lavender eyes being now exposed, before she started examining her.

A smile of relief graced the medic's lips when the light green flow around her hands slowly disappeared. Seems like Hinata was alright. She looked at her friend and grinned. The fact that Hinata was still conscious proved that and maybe it was something Tsunade would be more than just interested to know more about. Maybe that 0,1 % of shinobis could be saved if the symptoms were recognized on time. Interesting…

What bothered her though was that Tsunade knew that something like this was bound to happen to Hinata. What the hell was going on here?

She turned her head and looked between Kiba and Shino for a moment. The bastards had gone crazy with worry. She smirked at them.

"What are you looking at?" Kiba hissed and she simply shook her head at that before she shifted her eyes to look at Hinata's tired face. She had healed her before, so she was pretty sure that the 'heat' had disappeared –considering that Hinata had started to shiver- and her eyes were probably better already.

"How do you feel?" Sakura asked her softly. Hinata rubbed her head before a sigh left her lips.

"My head hearts and I feel like I want to puke." Hinata replied with a weak chuckle leaving her lips. Sakura smiled.

"You're going to be alright." Sakura said. She could see the question written all over her friend's face though. 'Why did this happen to me' was what Hinata wanted to ask, but it would have to wait till later. "I will explain everything later, I promise." Salura said and Hinata nodded her head in agreement. "But first we should find a place to camp for the night. It has already begun to dark anyway and you'll need as much rest as you can get before we reach Suna tomorrow."

"There is a clearing about five minutes from here. We can set a camp there for the night." Shino rushed to answer. He was so afraid for Hinata's health that he had already checked if there was a place suitable for them to stay the night. Sakura smiled and stole a quick glance at Hinata before she stood up. She quickly regretted it though. The wounds of a broken friendship were still open and from what it seemed, they hurt a lot.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

As he carefully sat down on the grass, he closed his eyes tight.

The icy night settled against his chest and face, making the air flying from his gaping mouth turn a frosty white. It was a cold night, but it didn't bother him.

He inhaled deeply, feeling the air rush down into his lungs, before a sight finally left his lips. How he wished he could fly into the dark night sky and disappear.

His eyes slowly opened, revealing orbs like the snow. He looked at the fragile flowers in front of him. It was funny how they had the same color as his eyes. It was fascinating even.

A sad smile graced his lips.

How strange it was really. She had left, but her flowers had stayed. Like a momento of a lost happy life.

_He leaned down and planted a very soft kiss on her neck before he sat down on the grass beside her. She turned and looked at him for a moment, offering him the sweetest of smiles. He smiled back. He still couldn't believe that they had been married for almost a year. He was beyond happy to say the least. After everything they had gone through with the Hyuga elders not allowing them to marry, they deserved to be happy at last. _

_He took some time to observe her. Rosy pink cheeks, long dark blue hair that even the night sky would be jealous of and those eyes- ohh those lavender eyes- . She was the same as she was two years back when he had first met her. He never regretted that day and he was sure that he never would. _

"_What are you doing?" He asked her softly. She smiled, not looking at him. It wasn't strange to see Hikari working in the garden. She had filled the gardens of the Hyuga compound with all kinds of flowers. It was her way to make the people around her happy, make their lives as beautiful as she could. _

"_I'm planting some new flowers." She said with the smile never leaving her soft pink lips. "I think you'll like them the most." He took the small bag of seeds in his hands and read the small label._

"_Galanthus" He simply read until realization hit him. "Wait, those flowers can't flourish in Konoha. The terrain is not suitable for them to be planted here." He said and she giggled._

"_Oh but they will, just wait and you'll see. They'll be beautiful."_

"_How do you know they'll grow up?" He asked her confused. She stopped what she was doing and turned around to look at him with eyes filled with love. She took his free hand and placed it on her flat belly._

"_I know because this is my present for our child." She said, her voice soft and barely above a whisper. _

_The small bag of seeds fell from his hand. He looked at her then looked at his hand on her flat belly then back at her._

_He started laughing, a happy soothing laugh combined with tears staining his face. _

_He hugged her tightly, afraid that she would slip away from him, afraid that it was all a dream that would soon come to an end. But nothing happened. She didn't slip away from him nor was this a dream. She was there in his arms and he was crying and laughing at the same time to hear her say they were going to have a child._

_The following winter, a little after Hinata was born, the flowers bloomed, filling Konoha with their intoxicating and sweet smell. _

"Hikari…" He said under his breath. At times like this he wished he could just vanish. He looked up at the sky as if waiting for a star to fall. Even if something like that happened though, he wouldn't know what wish to make… or maybe he did.

Unknown to him someone was looking at him the whole time, sharing his pain.

- "It still hurts Hiashi, doesn't it?" Hitomi mumbled under her breath before she walked back inside the house.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She stirred in her sleep as voices from outside her tent reached her ears. She slowly opened her eyes only to see darkness.

She had been sleeping ever since they reached the clearing having fallen asleep in Naruto's arms. She'd give everything to keep sleeping in his warm arms instead of this dark tent. She felt alone and she didn't like it.

She closed her eyes again and focused to hear what was being said outside.

"I'll take tonight's watch." She heard Naruto say and as if on cue a groan of annoyance was heard. 'Probably Sasuke disagrees.' She thought.

"Dobe, you're tired. I'll take tonight's watch." From the tone of irritation in Sasuke's voice, Hinata guessed that the two best friends had been possibly fighting over this for a long time now.

"I'm anything but tired, teme!" She heard Naruto protest and Sasuke sigh again.

"Okay whatever! If you feel any tired though, come and wake me up." She heard Sasuke say before he walked away, probably towards the tent he shared with Sakura.

She imagined Naruto smile goofily at his best friend's antics and it too made her smile. She heard footsteps coming towards her tent and she immediately closed her eyes again.

The sound of the zip of her tent going down, echoed in her ears and her cheeks immediately warmed up.

Was Naruto in her tent?

She felt him crawl towards her and lay a hand on her forehead, probably checking her temperature.

She heard him sight in relief but unknown to her, he smiled down at her. He was happy she was feeling better.

On the other hand, she was sad that she had worried him.

It was a minute later that he left her tent and she felt lonely again.

She sat up and searched for a jacket by using her hands. Sakura didn't allow her to use the byakugan afraid that something worse might happen. Of course, Sakura was overreacting as always 'cause she wasn't wearing her lenses, so no harm activating her byakugan, right?

She didn't activate it though. Sakura was too eerie when angry.

She found a thick woolen jacket beside her and wore it before putting on her shoes and stepping out of her tent.

She looked around her and all she saw were tents placed around a campfire. Nobody was around though and she assumed everyone had gone to sleep. She looked far at her right, at the figure sitting by the river bank and looking up at the stars. Well… almost everyone…

'Naruto…' she thought and smiled.

She walked towards him and with each step she was closer to him her heart would bit faster to the point she thought she would have a heart attack.

He felt leaves furiously rustling from behind him and with his ninja instinct kicking in he immediately stood up with a kunai already in his hand.

"Who's there?" He asked loudly enough for the 'intruder' to hear. The leaves from the high bushes rustled even more, making his heart race like crazy. 'Damn, don't tell me we're attacked already! I just got the night's watch!' He thought with a sigh.

His ocean blue eyes widened in shock as the lean figure walked from within the bushes. He let his hands rest on his sides as the kunai he was previously holding, was now fallen on the ground.

"Hinata?" She hesitantly walked towards and past him, offering him a soft smile on the process. She sat on the ground next to the river not speaking a word and he soon did the same.

She turned around and looked at him and she couldn't help but feel lost in his eyes. He always managed to have such an effect on her.

"Hinata, why are you awake? You should be sleeping and-" He tried to say more, like a parent would do when his child acted recklessly. She cut him off though.

"I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep any longer I guess." She said softly. He slowly nodded his head before he sat down beside her. They were sitting so close, almost an inch away from one another, and it surprisingly felt pretty normal.

They didn't talk though. Instead they just sat there looking at the moon illuminating over the small river. This silence between them was not awkward though. It felt so familiar, as if they could communicate through the silence.

People said that the deepest and greatest of feelings are not expressed through words but through the silence of a glance. And as she looked at him, she hoped he could see in her eyes how much she loved him.

She started to shiver at the cold night wind. Seems like her woolen jacket was not of much help after all.

"Are you cold?" Naruto asked. She shook her head _no_ in reply, but he could see she was lying from the way she was shivering. "Wait here." He said as he quickly stood up and ran back towards the camp. It was less than a minute later when he returned with a heavy blanket in his hands.

"Naruto, I told you I'm not cold. I'm fine really-" She tried to protest, but he didn't seem to listen.

He pulled the blanket around her shoulders before he sat down beside her. With his arm around her shoulders, he brought her closer to him making her use his shoulder as a pillow.

She blushed, totally having not expected something like that, but then relaxed in his embrace. She wasn't cold any more, but the blanket wasn't the one to thank for that. It was the heat radiating from Naruto's body as he held her closer and closer with every passing minute.

Her eyes started dropping, but she did not want to fall asleep just yet. In truth, she did not want to fall asleep at all. She would give everything to stay awake like this with Naruto all night.

But his warm arms around her and his heartbeat echoing in her ears were lulling her to sleep without her realizing.

"Naruto… thank you." She said, her voice soft and barely above a whisper, before sleep finally overcame her.

He shifted his eyes and looked at her with a smile. He was tired, but he wasn't going to sleep, not because he had taken the night's watch but because he wanted to just stay awake and watch her sleep all night.

He leaned down and planted a very soft kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight" He said softly.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She looked at the 13 year old genin standing beside her and a groan of annoyance left her lips. He turned his head and looked at her, white eyes meeting black, as an evil smirk crossed his face. She looked at him annoyed.

"What are you looking at, Sarutobi?" She hissed at him and he just chuckled in return.

"Nothing much really. I was bored so I decided to look at the useless Hyuga genin standing beside me." He said coolly and she fumed. He was driving her mad, but she smirked in the end. Well, if he wanted war then he would have it.

"Look who's talking! The guy '_I'm great-I'm awesome-I'm gonna be Hokage-yet I am still to become a chunnin'!" _She said sarcastically. "And you call **me **useless?" He narrowed his eyes at her, but then smirked again.

"If I remember well, you're not a chunnin either Hanabi." He said playfully and she chuckled.

"At least I'm not calling myself the favorite student of Konoha's hero!" She said teasingly.

"At least I deserve it, unlike you!" He said and she instantly looked away with a sigh leaving her lips. Damn it! She didn't know what to answer back!

"Tell me again, why am I stuck with you for training with Yugao-sensei?" She said and he laughed.

"Well, seems like everyone else is stuck with other things to do today so that leaves you and me to train. What a nice time we'll have." He said sarcastically and she laughed. A light happy laugh that made him blush. He looked away shyly, but she didn't see the red color staining his cheeks. 'Damn it! Why is she having such an affect on me? Get a grip Konohamaru' he thought to himself. _"You like her kiddo, don't you?"_ Naruto's words echoed in his mind. He quickly stole a glance at her but then looked elsewhere again with his blush never leaving his face. 'I don't like her! Or do I? AHHHH DAMN ME!'

"Sensei is kind of late, isn't she?" She said in a bored tone as another sigh left her lips. He nodded his head in response.

"I guess she's worse than Kakashi-sensei when it comes to arriving on time for something." Konohamaru said and Hanabi chuckled.

"You've got that right!" She said with a laugh. He smiled. She turned and looked at him confused.

"Why are you smiling?" She asked him teasingly.

"N-no reason,"

"Ohhh come on _Kona-chaaaaaan_!" She teased him.

"HEY! DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"I will!"

"No you won't!"

"I WILL!"

"NO YOU WON'T!"

"Don't you two ever stop fighting?" The raised their heads and looked at Yugao standing before them with a look that could be easily translated as _'Dare to continue this you BRATS!'_

"No." They both answered in unison as if arguing like that with one another was the most normal thing in the world. She shook her head at that. Some things never change.

"Ahh never mind! Let's just start our trainin-" Yugao tried to say until someone else cut her off. A young man suddenly appeared in front of her and she was all of a suddenly met by ink black eyes looking intently in her chocolate brown ones. She instantly blushed when she realized who the man was.

He smiled at her, but it wasn't one of those fake and mechanic smiles he once used to give to others. This was a true, heart warming smile. It was unique and it made her heart melt somehow.

She shook her head to get rid of those unwanted and needless thoughts. She didn't like him. No she didn't, or so she tried to convince herself.

"Sai? W-what are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be on a solo mission for the ANBU at Amegakure?" She asked him, still in shock to suddenly see him in front of her.

"I was but I finished the mission and I returned. I went to Hokage-sama to give my report and she told me that the rest of the Konoha 13 were sent out on missions, so I was bored and I came to see you!" He said with his smile never leaving his face. She narrowed her eyes at what he said last.

"You came to see me because you were bored?" He looked at her confused. Why did she get angry all of a sudden? Was it something he said?

"Yes, why?" He asked her innocently. He really had no clue of what was going on.

"Ahem! Sorry to interrupt your interesting conversation Sai nii-san, but you never tell a girl that you came to see her because you were bored." Konohamaru explained, trying his best not to burst out in laughs at the whole issue.

"Why? I'm just being honest!" That was it. That was the final blow for Konohamaru. He couldn't hold it anymore. He fell on the ground, laughing hard as he clutched his stomach that had started to hurt. Really now. Was Sai all that of a fool?

Hanabi rolled her eyes at that. Was this really her life? She first looked at her sensei, who was angrily patting her foot on the ground, then she looked at Konohamaru who couldn't stop laughing and then she looked at a dumbstruck Sai who had no idea what the big deal was.

' Ohh Kami-sama, why oh why am I surrounded by fools?' She thought.

"I still don't get it." Sai said, tapping his chin in thought. "Why can't you say something like that to a girl if it's true?"

"BECAUSE IT IS RUDE YOU FOOL!" Hanabi snapped at him and Konohamaru started laughing even more as Sai just kept looking at them confused.

"I still don't get it?" Sai said again and Hanabi felt like hitting her head on a brick wall. It would be a loooooong training. God help us!

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

It was early in the morning when they started traveling again although she was in for a big surprise. They hadn't woken her up. Instead she woke up only to find out that Naruto was holding her in his arms all they while they traveled.

She had asked him why he hadn't woken her up and he said he wanted her to sleep more as she needed more rest after everything that she had gone through the previous evening.

She had let the issue slip, thinking it was too sweet of him to do something like that, but when she said he could let her down so that she could walk on her own till they arrived at Suna he refused by shaking his head. She insisted though, saying that she didn't want to be a burden to him, but he refused again by tightening his grip protectively on her and saying that he was more than just glad to help her.

In the end she let him carry her. The warmth of his arms around her, were too irresistible to deny.

And they kept traveling like that. From time to time he would ask if she was feeling ok or make short conversations with her. Some other times they would happen to look at one another at the same time and then they would avert their gases with heavy blushes on their faces.

Sakura would look at them sweetly and with a happy smile gracing her lips to see how Naruto and Hinata were getting closer.

Sasuke would smirk every time he would steal a glance at the two. Seems like dobe had finally decided he couldn't leave without her.

Kiba and Shino would time from time smile to see Naruto and Hinata like that. Maybe Naruto could succeed were they failed. Make her happy.

"Sakura, Naruto had said we'd make a small stop on a village on our way to Suna. Is it far from where we're now?" Sasuke asked as Sakura took out the map Tsunade had given her. She looked at it, calculating the distance they had to cover until they reached the small village.

"If my calculations are correct, the village must be less than 4 kilometers away from here" She said with a happy smile. They had been traveling on a speed rate since very early in the morning, so a small stop would be much appreciated.

"Village? What village?" Kiba asked from behind them. She looked at him over her shoulder.

"Tsunade-sama asked for some herbs that only happen to grow in this village. I shouldn't be surprised though. Everyone in Shiwagakure has great healing abilities and special medicines that only they make." Sakura said and Hinata's eyes widened in shock at once.

"Shiwagakure?" She said in shock and Sakura looked at her confused.

"Yes, do you know it?" Sakura asked and Hinata shook her head at once.

"N-no" She lied. She looked up to see Naruto looking at her and a small gasp was about to leave her lips but she held it back. It was as if she knew she was lying, but more importantly. It was as if he knew about everything. About her, her mother, the Hyumashu clan and the rivalry between the Hyuga and the Mashishu clan. Then it was as if he knew how much it all hurt her. And she didn't know whether to be happy at the possibility he knew or be sad because the last thing she wanted was to give him more matters to bother him.

The all kept traveling at high speed. It was less than twenty minutes later when they arrived at the front gates of Shiwa.

Naruto slowly let her stand on her feet again, offering her a sweet smile on the process. She smiled back at him.

"Naruto, can you come here for a moment?" Sasuke called and Naruto shifted his eyes to look at his best friend who was currently discussing or more like arguing with the two Shiwa shinobis that guarded the front gates of the village. 'Like Izumo and Kotetsu' Naruto thought with a smirk.

"I'm sorry sir, but we can't let you inside our village." The first of the two young identical shinobis said. 'Probably twins' Naruo thought as he walked towards them.

"How many times do I have to say it? We're not some badass enemies who try to destroy your village! We're Konoha shinobis, ordered to make a stop for some supplies at you village before we carry on with our mission!" Naruto wanted to laugh and laugh hard. Sasuke was loosing his temper and Sakura seemed to enjoy this as well consuming from the wide grin on her face. It was funny seeing Sasuke get into such childish arguings.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked Sasuke cheerfully. "Good morning." He greeted the two guards who were taken aback by his attitude and just nodded their heads in reply. Really now, they thought that Naruto would kick or punch them in the best case scenario considering how Sasuke was his comrade and unknown to them his best friend. But to get such a warm greeting from the blonde shinobi standing before them, had really surprised them.

Sasuke glared at his best friend. Was Naruto kidding him? He was trying to scare the guards shitless here in order to let them enter Shiwa and what was Naruto doing? Greeting them as if they were friends. 'Nice job destroying our cool and wild image Naruto…' Sasuke thought.

"What are you looking at teme? Sasuke just rolled his eyes at that and sighed.

"Can you get this over with already? We have to be at Suna before nightfall, remember?" Sasuke said annoyed and Naruto just grinned at his best friend. He was drving Sasuke mad and he was enjoying every single moment of it.

"Yes yes, now stop bitching teme." Naruto said with a laugh as he waved Sasuke off. Sasuke fumed at that.

"Just wait till this mission is over, dobe. I'm so gonna kill you for this" Naruto mumbled under his breath.

"Ok what's the problem now guys? Why can't we enter the village?" Naruto asked them with a grin. The twins in front of them exchanged confused looks at the Konoha shinobis' attitude before the second guard replied:

"We have orders from Shikage-sama. With all the attacks against the Hidden Villages lately, he doesn't allow any foreign shinobis to enter Shiwa unless they have a letter from their Kage." He informed them and Naruto scratched the back of his head for a moment before he finally remembered.

"Oh yeah!" He exclaimed as he opened one of the pockets of his jonin vest and took out a perfectly sealed envelop. "I think that's all your Shikage will need to allow us to enter the village." Naruto said and handed them the envelop. The first og the twins took and opened the envelop. It was less than a minute later when he was done reading it. H smiled at Naruto.

"I think we're ok. You can enter Shiwa." He said and motioned to his brother to help him open the huge heavy wooden gates. And as the gates opened a whole new world was revealed to them. A genuine soft smile graced Hinata's lips and tears of happiness threatened to leave her light lavender eyes. She was here. She was finally here.

"Hinata, you'd better were the hood of your cloak before we enter the village. You're not wearing your cloak anymore and I can't imagine what'll happen if anyone that's secretly a member of the Knights of Death, recognizes who you are in the village." Sakura whispered to her and she nodded her head in return as she pulled the grey hood of her cloak over her head, covering the upper part of her face almost completely. "Are you nervous?" Sakura asked and she nodded her head again. She wasn't nervous of being recognized by the enemy as Sakura thought. She was nervous of setting foot in the village her long lost mother came from. "Everything will be alright" Sakura said soothingly before she walked towards Sasuke. She felt a hand slowly taking hold of her own and gentle fingers intertwining with hers as she saw Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba and Shino enter the village. She looked at her side, meeting the eyes of the one holding her hand. She smiled and he smile back. They walked together owards the main gates of Shiwa, but before they could walked past them, Naruto stopped and she stopped with him. She saw as he looked at the twin guards and said:

"It would be much appreciated if you none other than your Shikage learned about our arrival here. We don't want our mission being at stake if anyone else finds out we're here." He said, his voice serious and professional, yet still holding that friendly and warm tone in it.

"Understood!" The two brothers said in unison.

"That was like hearing Neji." Hinata whispered at him and he chuckled.

"What can I say? Hanging out with your cousin all that much must have really brushed off on me." He whispered back with his eyes locked with hers. A small laugh escaped her lips and he chuckled again. He turned his head and looked at the two guards again. "Thanx for your help." He said in a more casual tone this time.

"No problem Uzumaki-san." The two brothers said again in unison and Naruto nodded his head in thanx again before he and Hinata finally walked past the front gates.

And as they set foot at Shiwa ground, her heart started beating faster and a warm smile graced her lips again. He eyes welled up with tears as she looked at the village. 'I'm here mom… I'm finally here.' She thought. Naruto gave a light squeeze at her slightly trembling hand, but when she turned to look at him h was looking elsewhere, pretending to just observe the village. She smiled. It was as if he knew what it all meant to her.

"Where're the others?" She asked him after a moment. He turned his head and looked at her.

"Sasuke and Sakura said that they were going to take the supplies Obaa-chan asked for. Kiba said he was going to just take a look around with Akamaru and Shino said he'd visit the local shops and maybe the library for a while." He informed her. "We're supposed to meet at the front gates in about an hour. So, would you like to specifically go somewhere or just stroll around?" Do something specifically? Yes, she would like to search for the Compound were the Mashushi clan was held. Or maybe not. If she met them now, she would most probably need more than just an hour to talk with them.

"A walk would be just fine." She said with a cute smile.

"Ok!" He said and blushed at her smile before they started walking through the lively streets of Shiwa. Shinobi, women, men, children, elders…

Their characteristics were outstanding. Her eyes had caught red, purple, blonde even orange hair. Their eyes seemed to be unique too. Nothing like you could see in Konoha. Not to mention that most of the people here were beautiful, not only outside but inside as well. Everywhere you looked, you'd see warm smiles, greetings, small groups of friends, children playing and having fun with their parents, elders reading stories to the young ones of the village.

She didn't know why things were like that in Shiwa, but one thing was for sure. This village was truly something special.

She couldn't help but think how much Shiwa and Konoha were alike. Despite their differences and all, the two villages still seemed almost the same.

'Such a beautiful place' She though as she looked around again, observing her surroundings this time. Small local shops, colorful flowers everywhere, a huge library, a large fountain at the centre of the village. It was truly a sight to behold.

"This place is so much like Konoha." Naruto said as if he had read her thoughts. "The only thing missing here is and Ichiraku's ramen bar. Maybe I can tell old man Techi about this. He could open another ramen bar here and make something like a chain of Ichiraku's all over the country. He would be rich in no time and he would never worry about bills and such again." He said with a smile and Hinata chuckled.

"That's sounds like a very good idea. You really have a business mind!" She said teasingly and he chuckled. "You know what though? I think Konoha is more beautiful than Shiwa." She said in an honest soft voice.

"Why do you say so?" She looked at him.

"Because Konoha is my home." She said and she herself believed it. Shiwa was the place her mother came from, a beautiful place she never had the chance to visit before, but Konoha… Konoha was her home. It was where her parents fell in love, it was where she was born, it was where she grew up and had friends… it was were she first met Naruto and unfortunately it was where she lost her mother. She loved Konoha though, more that she would probably ever love Shiwa. Shiwa was like the place that kept holding the memory of her long gone mother alive. It was the place she hoped that all her questions would be answered.

"Oi Hinata, look there beside the fountain!" She heard Naruto exclaim in enthusiasm as he ran towards where he was pointing at, while still holding her hand. They stopped in front of four enormous silver statues and she gasped. "It's their Shikages, see?" He pointed at the small golden labels placed on the base of each statue. _"Arata Matsumoto: Fourth Shikage_, This must be their current Shikage." He said and Hinata heard him carefully, enthusiasm overcoming her as well. It was like what they did in Konoha by carving the faces of their Hokages, but instead of doing that, in Shiwa, they made silver statues of them. She noticed how below the name of the Shikage was written the place they came from. The current Shikage was from Shiwagakure as expected. But to write the place their Shikage came from, it meant that one of the Shikages was probably not form Shiwa. But who? "_Tamotsu Kouno: Third Shikage, Jun Sakai: Second Shikage- _WAIT_!"_ Naruto suddenly exclaimed. She looked at him confused.

"What's wrong?" She asked him as she saw him bent down on his knees before the silver statue of the first Shikage. He cleaned the golden label at the base of the statue with the back of his sleeve and just stayed there looking at it and not speaking a word. "Naruto?"

"The first Shikage, the one who founded Shiwa, was from Konoha." He said in a low voice, his voice barely above a whisper. He was very surprised to say the least.

"What?" She bent down beside him and read the label: "_Yuudai Iyuzuwa: First Shikage_" She read and her eyes widened in shock. Her breath hitched in her throat. "It can't be…" She whispered under her breath.

"What's wrong?" It was Naruto's turn to be surprised over Hinata's reaction.

"He's my ancestor…" She whispered under her breath again, not believing at her own words.

"Nani?" Naruto was shocked. "Are you sure?"

"My grandfather- my mother's father- was from Konoha. His name was Norio Iyuzuwa…" She looked at Naruto "B-but can it be?" He looked at the label again. 'How can this be? What a mess!' He thought to himself, not realizing that Hinata had already stood up and started walking away. Snapping out of his daze, he quickly stood up and run after her.

"Hinata! Chotto Matte!" He grabbed her elbow and turned her around, suddenly imprisoning her in a crashing warm hug. He buried his face in her shoulder as she laid her head on his chest, desperately trying not to cry.

"She lied to me…" She mumbled sadly against his chest.

"Who lied to you?" He said while rubbing her back in a soothing way, trying to calm her down.

"My grandma… she said that my grandpa came from a very small clan from Konoha that nobody cared about. That's why her parents never accepted their marriage, because he wasn't from a prestigious clan like they were. But she lied to me! There must be something else! If the first Shikage was a relative of my grandpa then my grandma's parents would be more than willing to accept their marriage." She didn't know why she was telling him all this now, in the middle of the village with some of the villagers looking at them weirdly as they walked past them. Maybe it was that she just wanted to get a heavy load off her shoulders.

"Maybe it's just a synonymy…" He said, trying to calm her down, but he knew that what he was saying were poor excuses. He knew that something like that was impossible to happen in the shinobi world. She shook her head against his chest.

"No, that's not the case. I'm sure they're related somehow, but… why… why did she hide it from me? After all those years, I had started to trust her again. I thought she had changed." She whispered with her sadness evident in her voice. "Can we leave, please?" He nodded his head against her shoulder before he took her hand again. They turned around and were about to walk away until a young soft cry reached their ears.

"NO! My ball! My ball fell into the fountain!" Everyone's eyes fell on the small five year old girl leaning over the fountain and trying to catch her ball with her tiny hands. Some rushed to her aid, but before they could reach her, Hinata raised her hand and almost instantly, thing water strings started forming. Everyone looked amazed as the water strings caught the ball and gently laid it in the girl's small hands. The small girl looked at the ball in her hands with wide eyes before a wide grin crossed her face. Everyone was speechless as the girl ran towards Hinata, with her pink ball still in her hands. She looked up at Hinata with big pupil-less deep purple eyes and Hinata couldn't help but gasp. 'A Mashushi…' Hinata thought dumbstruck. She knew they lived in the village, but she hadn't expected to meet one, not yet at least.

"Thank you, miss! You're very kind!" The girl said sweetly and Hinata smiled down at her. That was when the girl took a quick glimpse of light lavender eyes under the large hood that covered half of her hero's face. The girl's eyes somewhat widened in shock.

"Rika!" A young woman with shoulder length dark purple hair and eyes identical to her daughter's, breathlessly exclaimed as she ran towards her. She hugged her tightly, lifting her up in the air on the process. "Rika, were have you been? I was worried sick. I and your grandfather were looking everywhere for you."

"Sorry I worried you momma." The girl said cutely and her mother planted a soft kiss on her cheek, forgiving her reckless young daughter. She shifted her eyes and looked at Hinata with a smile. "I saw what you did earlier. Thanks for helping my daughter." The woman said and Hinata nodded her head in reply. "I'm Mashushi Miho by the way. Nice to meet you." She said and extended her hand to greet Hinata properly.

"I'm… S-Sayuri Ikeda. Nice to meet you too." Hinata said and the two young women shook their hands in a friendly greeting. Hinata stole a quick glance at Naruto, only to see him greatly surprised that she had lied to the other woman. In truth she herself didn't know why she had lied. Or maybe she knew. Introducing her self as Hinata Hyuga to a Mashushi would most probably cause a chaos. She didn't know what the Mashushi clan thought of Hyugas and she definitely didn't want to find out just yet. Miho looked like a very warm and friendly person, but what if their hatred for the Hyuga clan was stronger than what she had imagined? The Hyugas hated the Mashushi, or at least that was what the elders were trying to achieve with the new generations of Hyugas, but what if the Mashushi were the same? She would meet them properly one day. She would tell them who she really was and she would discuss with them, but that had to wait. After all they were still on a mission and until they reached Suna, she'd have to keep her identity a secret. That was why she was wearing the hood now, so going around and giving her real name to everyone she met in Shiwa, would be just plainly stupid. That's probably why she saw Naruto relax beside her after a moment. Maybe he had also realized the reasons she had lied to Miho and her daughter. Or at least he realized some of the reasons. Or so she thought.

The woman before her said her thanks once more before she turned around and started walking away.

"Wait mom! That girl, she-"The small girl tried to say something, inform her mother of something she had seen.

"I'm sorry Rika, but we don't have much time to speak farther with the young girl that helped you. We should go and see your grandfather. He was very worried for you." Miho said as they kept walking away.

"But mom-" The girl raised her head and looked at Hinata once more and at that very moment, Hinata felt like something hit her hard on the head as she looked at the small Mashushi girl with the big pupil-less deep purple eyes. Had Rika understood who she was?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The young Kazekage stood up from his chair and walked towards the large window of his office.

His green pupil-less eyes sparkled under the sunset colors of the sky coming through the window and brightening the whole room.

"You seem worried." He heard his sister say softly. He looked at her over his shoulder for a moment, before he looked outside the window again. She was sitting on a chair in front of his desk, with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes looking caringly at him, her little brother.

"I'm not." He lied, but he had to admit that Temari was right. He was worried and he was worrying her too. He didn't like that.

"We both know you're lying, little brother." He heard her say and an almost invisible smile graced his lips. As always, Temari could read him like an open book. "Is it about the rumors? " He heard her ask and he barely nodded his head as an answer to her question. "We're not sure if anything will happen in the end…" She mumbled.

"Don't lie to yourself, Temari." Gaara said, still looking outside the window. "We both know that these rumors are more than just true. It's only a matter of days if not hours, until the organization attacks." He said and a long sight left his lips. Temari didn't speak. Instead she just sat there thinking of what Gaara said. He was right of course. It was just that… she didn't want to accept it.

"They're kind of late, don't you thing?" She heard him say in a low calm voice.

"The sun hasn't set yet and you asked for them to be here before nightfall today. They must be arriving any minute now." As if on cue, the large doors of his office suddenly opened wide with Kankuro breathlessly running inside his little brother's office. Temari giggled at the sight of her brother. Kankuro had probably run all the way across the town.

"Gaara, they're here! They'll be at the front gates of Suna within the next two minutes!" Kankuro said and a soft smile graced the Kazekage's lips.

"Temari…" He simply said and she quickly nodded her head in reply.

"Understood!" She said with a grin before dragging Kankuro out of the office.

"HEY! WHY ARE YOU DRAGGING ME WITH YOU WOMAN? DON'T YOU SEE I'M TIRED?" Gaara chuckled as he heard Kankuro yell at Temari.

"Shut up, Kanky! We have guests to welcome!" Temari shouted back.

"HEY! DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE GONNA CALL ME THAT AS WELL NOW? IT'S BAD ENOUGH THAT NARUTO CALLS ME THAT! NOT YOU TOO TEMARI!"

"But I like it!" She pouted.

"I DON'T CARE!" A small laugh left the redhead's lips and he realized that even the guards where laughing with the heated conversation his siblings were having.

She fell back on her bed and sighted as she looked at the white ceiling of her room. They had been in Suna five days now and nothing had happened. No attack, not even a threat and she started to wonder if all the organization wanted to do was to play with their feelings and fears.

Many had started to believe that Suna wouldn't be attacked after all, with Sasuke, Kiba and Kankuro being some of them. She could see that Naruto wasn't convinced and unfortunately, she had to agree. She couldn't stop having that strange feeling ever since they arrived at Suna. It was like… an intuition. Something was bugging her greatly and it sure wasn't for good. She just wished she was mistaken though.

She hugged her white pillow close to her as she thought of what had happened those past five days. Nothing much out of the ordinary really. To be honest it all seemed to be more like a vacation than a mission. Every day they would just hang out and spend time together. They would train at times and discuss of what they would do in case of an actual attack.

She sighted as she buried her face into her pillow. Why did she feel like that attack was closer than they thought? It felt like the enemies would attack any minute now.

She stood up from her bed and walked towards the mirror on the opposite wall from her bed. She looked at her reflection on the mirror and sighed again 'Don't be silly! It's all in your mind! Nothing will happen!' She scolded herself mentally before she walked towards the chair placed next to the window. She grabbed her vest and searched for the lenses Tsunade had given her. She took the small white box in her hand and looked at it. She hadn't worn them ever since that very first night of their mission, when she collapsed, and Sakura's words kept ringing in her mind.

_She checked her eyes again before a sight of contentment left the medic's lips._

"_I don't understand…" Hinata said, catching the medic's attention at once. "… if the lenses can be that dangerous then why not make a jutsu that would change the eye color for a small period of time, instead of wearing the lenses? Wouldn't it be safer then?" Her question seemed to take Sakura aback for a moment. She just shook her head in the end._

"_Actually they've made a jutsu that can do that. It was invented more than fifty years ago." Sakura said and Hinata seemed surprised._

"_Really? Then why not use the jutsu except from the lenses?"_

"_It's more complicated than that…" Sakura said and took a deep breath before she continued. "The jutsu was very dangerous. Every single shinobi who had tried it, ended up blind and there were even cases when those who used the jutsu actually died in the end. It has been forbidden to use the jutsu ever since." _

"_Why did the jutsu have such major effects?"_

"_To be honest, I don't know. Tsunade-sama never really wants to talk about it. She refers to it as an 'unfortunate incident' and nothing more."_

"_And she made the lenses to minimize the risks, right?" Sakura nodded her head at Hinata's questions. And that very moment she wondered. Why didn't Tsunade want to talk about it? Was she hiding something from them?_

She looked at the lenses one more time before throwing them back in her pocket again. If Tsunade was actually hiding something from them, she didn't know. It seems like only time would show.

She sighed again as she walked towards her window. Why did everyone seem to hide something lately?

A glimpse of a strange red light caught her eye in the distance. Was it…. fire? 'It's probably my imagination.' She thought.

That's when she heard people furiously running in the hallway, making the greatest of noise… it was like… no it couldn't be…

She quickly looked at the white clock hanging from the wall. It was five minutes past midnight, so such a chaotic noise was probably illogical at such an hour. Something weird was going on….

A loud heartbreaking scream from outside echoed in her ears and made her freeze.

Fire… chaos… scream…

She quickly grabbed a couple of kunais and ran outside, leaving her vest forgotten on the floor of her room.

She stood frozen in the middle of the hallway, watching with wide light lavender eyes the chaos itself unrolling around her. People were running towards different directions, some of them carrying their crying children in their arms. Some others were leaning against the walls, screaming and praying for God to save them. And then she heard it. A thunderous explosion that made the earth beneath their feet start to shake. She gripped her kunais tightly. The attack… she had to do something.

She ran outside the motel and towards the chaotic streets of Suna. She looked around her, searching for any strange shinobis that would most probably be their enemies. She didn't see anyone though, her bare eyes missing the shadows dressed in long blood red cloaks that moved as quickly as lightning from rooftop to rooftop.

She ran through the waves of panicked citizens, trying somehow to find someone she knew, anyone… She felt so lost…

She suddenly felt a hand grab her arm and she quickly turned around, ready to attack the enemy, but she stopped when she realized who it was.

She stared into his crystal blue eyes for a swift moment before she hugged him tightly, being more than just glad he was there.

"Hinata, you ok? You're not hurt are you?" He asked her worriedly before he took her small face in his hands and looked into her panicked eyes.

"I'm fine. Where are the others?" She was very worried about everyone and especially for Naruto. That night, they had all kind of slipped apart. She, Temari and Sakura had gone earlier that night at a small local restaurant to grab a bight, but by ten o'clock she left and returned at the motel with the excuse of a bad headache. The boys on the other hand had all gathered at Gaara's office, discussing about any sorts of things.

"They're all ok. They're waiting in front of the Kazekage tower." He said and she nodded her head just before another thunderous explosion was heard dangerously nearer that time. "Let's go!" He quickly said with his voice barely audible in all the chaos.

"Ok" She said before he grabbed her hand and they both started running towards the Kazekage tower. It was less than a minute later when they arrived and indeed everyone was there like Naruto had said.

"Finally you two are here!" Sakura said breathlessly with a tint of worry apparent in her voice.

"The explosions have started to be greater and in smaller periods of time. What happened? Are all the enemies inside Suna?" Naruto asked, barely holding his wrath for the organization back.

"That's what we believe. We can't see them that easily though. They're moving like shadows. We know neither their number nor their power." Gaara said with anger evident in his voice. Suna was being attacked damn it! He had to do something, but what? Fighting the enemies would be like trying to hurt ghosts 'cause that's what they were. Ghosts haunting the night and attacking their victims without anyone taking notice.

"Hinata, can you-" Even before Sakura could finish her sentence, Hinata had already activated her byakugan.

She was looking around, her pale light lavender eyes scanning whole Suna in great speed.

"There are twenty five of them- no seventy three… one hundred… two hundreds-" Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes widened in shock.

"What's wrong? How many of them are there?" Temari asked, but Hinata didn't look at her.

"There are more than six hundreds of them. They're all inside Suna." Hinata said, her answer barely audible with the continuous explosions and screams all around them. Everyone gasped.

"Six hundreds of soldiers just for a single attack?" Sasuke asked in shock.

"Damn!" Kankuro cursed

"No time for cursing! They're coming closer!" Hinata said and everyone nodded they're heads in agreement.

"SPLIT UP!" Gaara said and everyone nodded their head in reply before they all flew towards different directions. Well, almost all…

She deactivated her byakugan as she turned her head and saw him about to leave as well, but he seemed to hesitate. Was he worried?

"Be careful…" He heard her say in her always sweet voice. And as he turned and looked at her she realized how he wasn't worried about himself but about her. She smiled, a sweet, soft, caring smile that only he seemed to receive.

"I'm always careful…" He said in an equal soft voice. It was a miracle how they could hear what one another was saying through all the chaos around them. He walked towards her with small steady steps, as if they weren't in the middle of an attack but back in Konoha, under a sky full of stars and they were alone, looking into one another's eyes. He took her small hands in his before he bent down and planted a small warm kiss on her cheek, but she didn't blush… not this time… because for a strange reason… it all seemed too normal.

And as his hand let hers and he stepped backwards, a light yellow glow covered his whole body. He was ready to go…

"Take care…" He said with a smile before he jumped on a rooftop, ready to defend Suna.

"I will…" She mumbled under her breath before she activated her byakugan again.

She turned her head and looked far in the distance. They were coming. She stole quick glances on the rooftops of houses and shops, in the dark alleys of Suna, on the branches of trees and behind huge rocks. Sparkling determined eyes of shinobis hidden in the shadows and ready to die while protecting their village, made her smile. She was ready as well.

Ready to face the murderers of her cousins….

He stood still with his arms crossed over his chest and his sand swirling all around him. He watched as five shinobis dressed in long blood red cloaks ran towards him, ready to kill him. He smirked as they attacked with their extreme speed and hard blows taking him aback for a moment. He had to admit, they were strong, but he was stronger.

He could end their fight there and then with just a single move of his wrist and his sand would kill them in a blink of an eye, but he didn't do it. He was playing them, tricking them in his own game. He wanted to see their power, what they could do. And he had to admit, his plan was going great so far. They had fallen in his trap.

He smirked.

Playing with the mind of his enemies was probably one of the many reasons he was named the Kazekage. Those bastards didn't know with who they were dealing with.

He suddenly heard a scream and he immediately turned his head towards it. He watched as a kunoichi he knew very well, fell on her knees, unable to stand up as her opponent was about to at her again.

His eyes widened in shock. The enemy was about to kill her. He had to do something and he had to be quick.

With a single move of his hand, sand rose and hit the five shinobis in front of him, burring them alive under its extreme weight.

He turned to look at the girl again. She had fallen on the ground now, with her breaths coming harder and harder and her dark eyes barely open. Her opponent, a tall man hid under the hood of his cloak, walked towards her slowly, with the tip of his katana touching the ground. He stood before her and mumbled something to her, before he raised his katana ready to take the life out of her small body.

That's when he ran towards them, his red hair going wild with the cold wind furiously hitting his face and his green eyes burning with the need to protect the one he loved the most.

He raised both his hands and sand surrounded the tall man with the katana. Sand started tightening around his wrists, ankles and neck, making him unable to move and breathe. And as his last breath left his body, his katana fell from his hand and hit the ground just a moment before his lifeless body fell down as well.

Gaara ran towards her, bending down on his knees beside her and taking her small delicate face in his hands. She smiled up at him. She was glad he was there.

He crushed his lips at hers, so suddenly, so unexpectedly, yet so softly and gently.

He looked into her glinting eyes and smiled.

"Once all this is over, what about we go on a date?" Matsuri smiled brightly at him as a tear of happiness started rolling down her cheek.

"I would love that…" She said softly, before she couched again making her whole body tremble. He instantly got worried and with a quick glance at her wounds, he scooped her up in his arms. He'd have to find someone to help her before he went on with his fight.

They were back to back, breathing hard and looking intently at the opponent in front of them. His back pressed to hers, her back pressed to his… They had experienced it all in many of their missions since they were children, yet this was different somehow. They no longer had Kakashi over their heads to protect them whenever they were in deep trouble. This time they were alone, unprotected and death was a clear possibility of their future. Unfortunately they might die tonight. It was a pity really. They were only eighteen years old. They didn't want to die. They were too young and there were still so many things they wanted to live… to experience… Why die now?

She felt a tear stain her cheek and she immediately got angry with herself. She hadn't cried for years, so why was she crying now, in the middle of an attack, with the enemies right before them and their lives at stake? Was she afraid?

'Damn, I'm not afraid!' She shouted in her mind as more tears left her eyes.

She rested her head against his shoulder blade for a moment, breathing him in as if afraid she would forget his smell, his face, his eyes… him…

"Sakura! Don't give up!" He shouted at her and she immediately jerked her head up. He turned and looked at her over his shoulder. He smiled at her. A soft encouraging and full of love smile. He was not angry at her, anything but that really. He just didn't want to see her give up 'cause she was strong and he loved her and he surely wasn't planning on dying by the hands of those bastards. He wanted to live, live with her, and he would, but in order to do so they had to defeat those losers first.

She smiled at him before she whipped her tears away with the back of her hand. She took her black leather gloves from the pocket of her jonin vest and put them on.

She closed her eyes for a moment, taking deep breaths in, trying to calm herself down and concentrate. 'Thank you Sasuke…' She thought with a smile before she slowly opened her large green eyes and looked at the girl standing a few feet in front of her. 'Rie' that's the name the guy standing before Sasuke, had called her.

She took a moment to observe the girl. Long black hair held in a low ponytail, dark brown eyes , not more than twenty years old and probably a pain in the ass consuming from the look all over her round face. She took notice of the medic belt around her waist. 'A medic? That's interesting' Sakura thought. Seems like they were equal.

She narrowed her green eyes at Rie. She sure wasn't going to let someone like her destroy her life. Her gloved hands formed into fists and a sarcastic smirk graced her lips.

She was going to win this.

"Sasuke…" She said and he nodded his head in reply. They were ready to show to those 'kids' what Konoha shinobi could do. "On the count of three…"

"Hn"

"One…" He gripped his katana.

"Two…" She took out a kunai.

"THREE!" They shouted in unison before they both jumped up in the air.

She landed in front of Rie with her silver kunai sparkling under the moonlight as she aimed it at the raven haired girl. She stood there, with the tip of her kunai only an inch away from her enemy's nose. An evil smirk crossed Rie's face.

"You think you can kill me with just a simple kunai?" Rie said, her voice dark and full of sarcasm. What an annoying girl. Her words didn't seem to fade Sakura though. The pink haired kunoichi smirked again.

"You're right!" Sakura said and let her kunai slip from her hand and fall on the ground. "I need nothing but my fists to kill you." Rie's mouth gapped for a moment, surprised by Sakura's confidence. Did she really think she could win her? Tck, what a stupid girl that Konoha kunoichi was.

"I'd like to see you try." Rie said and in a swift move, she took two small bottles from her belt and threw them on the ground. An enormous dark purple cloud immediately rose from the broken bottles on the ground, making it impossible for Sakura to see. Unlike her, Rie knew well how to move through the fog and catch her enemies when they were not ready for a possible attack.

Sakura covered her nose, afraid that the smoke might also be poisonous. She searched in the pockets of her vests for anything that could help until she remembered the small bottle Tsunade had given her before leaving.

She took the bottle in her hand and smirked. That would be able to clear the smoke.

Rie ran towards her, unnoticed by the pink haired kunoichi who couldn't see a thing through the smoke.

Rie smirked to herself. Unlike Sakura, she was trained to fight in conditions like these. Her opponent didn't stand a chance.

She punched her hard in the stomach, making Sakura fall on the ground. She wanted to fight with her fists and that's exactly what Rie would do as well. She would kill her with her bare hands.

Sakura grunted and cursed as she fell on the ground, clutching her stomach. That Rie sure had a pair of strong fists. She blindly searched for the bottle that had left from her hand when Rie punched. She found nothing but dirt for a moment there though until her fingertips touched the glass of the bottle. She had found it.

"You're really useless you know. I thought you'd be a much more interesting opponent. Seems like I was wrong." Rie said and Sakura narrowed her eyes at that. "You're useless." Sakura chuckled.

"And you're stupid." She said and dropped the glass on the ground.

"WHH-HAT?" Rie shouted in shock as she watched the fog slowly disappear. Her potions! How? How had that pink haired slut managed to destroy the effects of **her** awesome potions? 'That bitch! She's gonna pay!' Rie thought.

"From what it seems you're the useless one, not me." Sakura said, driving Rie even more mad.

Rie smirked. She took out three poisoned senbons and threw them at Sakura, missing her by an inch.

Sakura fumed, her green eyes shining with anger. That was it! Rie had pushed her luck too far. No more mercy. She was going down!

"**KUTABARE O BAKA ZE!**" Sakura shouted with all her might as she punched the ground below her, making the earth shake and break in two.

She watched as Rie fell back, her body covered in wounds and scratches. Sakura walked towards her, slow steady steppes echoing in her ears as she approached her annoying enemy.

She stood right before her and bent her head to look at her with eyes full of anger.

"You lose…" Sakura said, her voice like a whisper yet strong enough to cut a rock. Rie smirked. Sakura's words had no effect on her.

"I never lose…" Sakura's eyes widened in shock as red glow started appearing on Rie's wounds. She took some hesitant steps backwards, afraid of what Rie was going to do. She watched in shock as the wounds of her opponent started healing on their own, not leaving a single scar behind.

"What the hell?" Sakura mumbled under her breath as she watched Rie stand turned around, ready to leave, but not before she said something more. She looked at Sakura over her shoulder and smirked.

"Don't forget to give Tsunade my greetings. She'd be happy to know you encountered me." Rie said, her voice laced with pure sarcasm and hatred, before she disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.

"Sakura, you ok?" Sasuke shouted as he ran towards her. She turned and looked at him as he reached her.

"I'm fine, what about the guy that you-"

"He's dead." Sasuke said and she simply nodded her head in reply.

"What happened to your arm?"

"Oh I broke it." He said and shrugged as if it was nothing much to care about. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"It's not funny Sasuke. Don't act so coolly when you just broke your arm! We'll need to bandage it once we reach the hospital." She said and he chuckled.

"I'm an Uchiha. Uchihas heal fast." He said and smirked. She laughed in return.

"We'll also have to teach you how to be less arrogant." He chuckled again before he gave her a quick sweet peck on the lips.

What Sasuke didn't know was the great worry perfectly hidden under his girlfriend's smile.

'Tsunade-sama, what are you hiding from me?' Sakura thought.

His clones disappeared one by one and he was the only one left to face the silver haired shinobi with the determined golden-brown eyes before him.

This guy, he seemed so familiar, but he was sure that he had never met him before.

Two well sharpened blades came flying his way, but he easily dodged them with his deep blue eyes still glued on the man before him.

"What do you want from us?" Naruto said. His voice serious and calm yet cold and full of emotion the same time.

"We want nothing. We're just following orders." The other man said with his voice baring no emotion. He was like a puppet, someone that others thought of, someone that others decided for. For a strange reason, he reminded Naruto of Neji when they were younger. A caged bird… a prisoner…

They both ran against one another, with their kunais clashing and their eyes sparkling with adrenaline. Their hearts raced in the rhythm of the battle and their breaths came out in huffs.

To say that neither of the two had any personal gain in the whole situation, I think it's logical. They were just attacker and defender. Naruto was defending Suna because it was the village of one of his best friends and his opponent was attacking Suna because he couldn't do or else when he had received orders to do so.

The one was helping for the shake of a friend while the other was killing in order to please a possibly insane and powerthirsty leader. Strange isn't it? How two people so different seemed to be connected somehow or maybe thanks to someone?

"SHIN!" Naruto sifted his eyes to look at the young man calling from afar. He then looked at his opponent.

'Shin?' He thought dumbstruck.

"_You know, I was wondering, what is the name of your best friend? You know, the one that gave you the letter for his sister." Daichi looked at him somewhat troubled. He hadn't expected such a question from Naruto._

"_Why does it matter that much?" Naruto shrugged._

"_No reason. I was just curious I guess." Daichi smiled for a moment._

"_Shin… his name is Shin…"_

Shin shoved Naruto against the wall who was too caught up in his thoughts to react. Naruto raised his head and looked at his opponent in the eye.

Shin was about to cut his throat open, kill him there and then, but that wasn't the reason Naruto looked at him. In truth, he hadn't even realized what was going on too shocked to even speak a word. Fate surely knew how to play the meanest of games.

"You're Daichi's best friend…" Naruto said or more like stated as if to make sure his mind wasn't playing games with him.

Shin's eyes widened in shock and his mouth gapped as he started mumbling incoherent words.

He then suddenly narrowed his eyes and his grip on the kunai he was holding against Naruto's neck, tightened.

"Who are you?" Shin shouted angrily at him, afraid that Naruto was just trying to play with his worry for his best friend's life.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the one Daichi trusted with the letter for your sister." Naruto said and the kunai fell from Sin's hand at once. He let go of Naruto and took some hesitant steps backwards like someone did when he'd see a ghost and to be honest, if reality was a ghost, Shin would be very scared of it.

"SHIN! AREN'T YOU LISTENING OF WHAT I'M SAYING? ETSUKO IS IN TROUBLE! WE HAVE TO HELP HER!" The other young man yelled again, but Shin didn't seem to listen.

"Shut up Tadao! I'll be right there!" Shin yelled at him but with his eyes glued on Naruto's. He gulped as if something had stuck in his throat. Things were getting serious. "Is Daichi ok?"

"He's in prison but he is ok." Naruto said. He looked at Shin and he could tell that the silver haired ninja had many questions that needed to be answered. "I know that you have many questions, I also would if I were you, but that's not the right place to discuss about it right?"

"How can I trust you?"

"You can't. I guess you'll have to risk it." Naruto said. He didn't like playing with the minds of others but in this case he couldn't do or else because he too didn't know whether to trust Shin or not. I guess that they both had to risk it.

"SHIN! YOU HAVE TO COME NOW!" Tadao yelled again and Shin nodded his head in reply.

"We'll meet again." Shin said and turned around ready to leave.

"Wait! How will I find you?"

"You won't find me, I will. And the next time we meet you get to answer all of my questions, _**jinchūriki**_!" Shin said and left. Naruto gritted his teeth at that.

'I don't think I'll get along well with that guy…' Naruto thought and sighed.

She had tried everything but the three enemy shinobis that surrounded her seemed to know every move she made. She breathed hard as sweat ran down her forehead. It wasn't that they had extreme power or something. It was that they had a stragedy and a pretty wide knowledge on Hyuga style fighting thus they could predict her next move every time.

'Damn, what am I gonna do?' Hinata thought, still breathing hard.

"Nothing you do will work Hyuga." She turned to her right and looked at the man with the short dirty blonde hair that one of the other two had called Haruo.

"You shouldn't be surprised we know all of your moves. We know everything about Hyugas." The man with the auburn hair and the name Goro to her left said, his voice rough and heavy. The surprising fact was that none of the three was more than twenty years old.

"That's how we killed your cousins. That's how we'll kill you." Her eyes fell on the man standing a few feet in front of her. She narrowed her eyes at him. She knew him all too well. Hell, who didn't know him? He was one of the most 'renowned' criminals and lost ninjas. His name? Madoka Fijukiya…

Madoka smirked at her, an evil wide smirk that made a shiver run down her spine. He walked towards her, his eyes glued to her and his right hand gripping his katana.

He stood only an inch away from her, making Hinata fill his disgusting breath hit her face, before he started walking on a circle around her like a wild animal would do before catching and killing its pray.

"It's a pity you have to die. You're very beautiful…" She heard him say before he stopped in front of her again.

Her hands formed into tight fists. That man, he was disgusting her. She felt something like electricity ran through her and it made her shiver again. What the hell was that?

He smirked again before he walked away only to stand a few meters away from her.

He crossed his arms over his chest, like a general ready to give his soldiers an order. She knew were this was going.

"Kill her!" He said and the other two nodded their heads with an evil smirk before they took out their well sharpened katanas as well. They ran towards her, ready to kill her. So, was this the end of her?

A flash of moments, memories, good and bad, happy and sad, flashed in her mind. She could remember Aiko's sweet happy smile while telling her she was pregnant. She could remember Genji's enthusiasm for getting married with the woman he loved once the mission was over. She could remember Kaito treating her to candies when she was younger. She could remember Ko's grief for loosing his only brother, her uncle Usui's secret tears for the deaths of his daughter and son in law. And last, she could remember how they were responsible for all the pain their actions had caused.

She felt her blood boil as anger and sadness combined in her heart. She was not going to die. Not from their hands. Not today.

She closed her eyes. They were coming towards her, ready to kill her, but she wouldn't allow it.

She raised her hands at arm's reach as her hands started glowing into the night. A blue light surrounded her wrist, hand and fingertips. She didn't know what was going on or what she was doing, but she hoped it worked.

She opened her eyes at once as screams of pain echoed in her ears. She looked only to see Haruo's and Goro's limp bodies htting the ground. What surprised her the most though, were the blue electricity blades on all over their bodies. She then looked at her hands dumbstruck. 'Did… did I do this?' She thought in shock.

She raised her head and looked at Madoka when his chuckle reached her ears.

"Well done! That was pretty amazing!" Madoka said with faked amusement as he clapped his hands in an ironic applause. His face went suddenly cold then though. He narrowed his dark blue eyes at her. "You won't have the same luck with me though." He said and raised his katana. He was about to ran towards her and take her life in one swift move until someone hit the back of his head.

She watched as Madoka's unconscious body fell on the ground and the young man that had hit him, kneeled beside him to check if he was still alive. He did the same with the other two before he finally stood up and looked at her.

What surprised her though, wasn't that someone had helped her, but who this someone was. He was one of them, one of the enemies and his long red cloak was a clear hint of that.

"Those bastards are still alive." His voice rang in her ears and her eyes widened in shock at once. She knew that voice although she hadn't heard it for almost four years now.

"Naoki?" She asked him in shock. His head jerked up at once. He didn't answer though. He truly hadn't expected her to realize who he was.

"They'll wake up soon, so it'd be better if you left." He said and turned around, ready to leave. Her voice stopped him though.

"Wait!" He stopped. "Why did you help me?" The answer to her question was pretty obvious he thought.

"You once saved my life and I thought of doing the same." He said, his voice serious and impassive. "Now we're even.." He disappeared in a cloud of smoke before Hinata could say another thing. 'Naoki… Kazuo has to know about this when we return to Konoha…' She thought.

She looked at her hands. The blue light had disappeared leaving no trace behind. It was as if it had never even happened. Strange. How had she done it and how could she do something like that.

_"You've been trying to hide your powers your whole life, afraid to be called different from those around you. You're unique and the Hyuga Elders have started to realize that now. That's why Hideo is afraid of you. You are the only child to have ever had those powers."_

It was as if she could here them, the words her grandmother had said not many days ago. She shook her head as if to get rid of the unwanted thoughts. No, it couldn't be. Everything Hitomi had said were nothing but simple speculations. She wasn't the child the prophecy was talking about. She wasn't the child born to reunite the two clans and she wasn't the only one ever to be born with the ultimate Hyumashu power. They were all lies. Right?

Another explosion was heard although it was bigger and nearer this time.

"HINATA HYUGA!" She hears someone yell with all his might. She raised her head and looked at the dark figure standing on the highest point of the Kazekage tower as the huge full moon rose behind him.

She couldn't see him clearly. He was like a shadow with his hair and cloak blowing in the cold night wind.

"Who are you?" She asked loud enough for him to hear. She didn't know who he was and she didn't know how he knew who she was. He sure was neither a friend nor someone following plain orders from the leader of the organization.

"I'm nobody…" His voice made her shiver. So cold, so lifeless yet so familiar.

She jumped up on the roof of the Kazekage tower and within a second, she was standing before him. Nothing but ten meters was the distance between them. Ten meters was the distance between good and evil. Ten meters was the distance between life and death. And she realizes. It was a very small distance.

She could finally see him clearly. Tall and well build, dark brown hair held in a low ponytail, a white porcelain mask perfectly covering his facial characteristics, two long swords placed on his back and his eyes… Those cold bloodthirsty eyes.

She took another moment to observe those strange looking eyes of his. They were neither eyes of a Hyuga nor eyes of a Mashushi. They were both. One purple… one white.

She was finally sure who the man was. The masked byakugan user had finally decided to appear. The man behind everything was standing there, only ten meters away from her. It was tempting to think that in one swift and well managed move she could kill the man that caused all the pain to everyone in the Shinobi world. It was tempting to think that with one swift move she could cut his throat open with her kunai. She wasn't a fool though. She knew that he wouldn't be that easy to deal with and the one to die in the end would be more possibly her.

"We finally meet…" He said with an evil smirk forming behind his mask. "I was looking forward to the pleasure of killing you, a long time now."

He took one of his swords in hand to show her he wasn't playing around. He didn't faze her this time though. Not so much at least.

"I'm not afraid of you!"

"Well… you should be…" He jumped up in the air with his sword aiming at her. If he hit her she was dead. She couldn't let that happen. She was about to do something when someone suddenly stepped in front of her. She watched at his kunai clashed with the thick blade of the sword, making the masked man to step backwards surprised. He shoed no kind of emotion though.

"How-"

"This is not just a usual kunai" Naruto said with a smirk as he took a step closer to the byakugan user. "Ever heard of the _Flying Thunder God Kunai_?"

"I thought there were none of these anymore. I thought they disappeared the same day your father died." The man said coolly and Naruto chuckled.

"You're right. This is not one of the well known kunais of the Yellow Flash. This is mine. I made it and it is ten times better than my father's." Naruto simply said. He turned and looked at Hinata over his shoulder. She nodded her head to show him she was ok before she walked and stood beside him. She looked at the masked man.

"What do you want?" She asked him and a long bitter laugh left his lips.

"I want revenge." He said and Naruo narrowed his eyes at him.

"From who?" Hinata asked him again.

"From you." Her eyes widened in shock at his answer. Revenge… from her?

"Why? What have I done to you?" She shouted at him and he laughed again.

He didn't answer. Instead he took both swords in his hands and ran towards them with such speed that they could hardly keep up with him.

They blocked his attacks though and that bothered him. They weren't as weak as he had thought them to be.

He let his swords fall from his hands and hit the ground. Naruto and Hinata looked at him confused. Was he giving up?

He smirked again as green light surrounded his hands. Hinata's eyes widened in shock as with only a blow he had made Naruto fall on his knees and breathing hard.

"Konoha's hero my ass!" He said and laughed again. He looked at Hinata again and with one quick move he had grabbed her by the neck and tightening his hold on her dangerously, making it a feat for her to breath. He took a small knife from his belt and dragged the tip of it on her right upper arm, leaving a small bloody wound behind. She grimaced in pain.

"You'll die, Hyuga!" He shrieked at her and she narrowed her light lavender eyes at him as anger overpowered her again. She felt that bolt of electricity ran through her again and she knew that her hands had most probably started to glow with that blue light again.

"I'm not a Hyuga." She said and smirked. "I'm a Hyumashu!" She shouted at him before touching his head with one of her hands, making him loosen his grip on her neck as he started chocking. What the hell had happened just now?

Before he could recover she hit him again, this time on the stomach, making him fall down, much like he had done with Naruto not too long ago.

She watched Naruto stand up on his feet again, having totally recovered from the byakugan user's hit.

"Naruto, are you ok?" She asked him breathlessly as she ran towards him just to make sure he was actually fine. He smiled at her but he didn't have time to give her a proper answer as he saw the blue light around her hands.

"What happened to your hands?" He asked her worriedly as he took her hands in his. As if on cue the light slowly disappeared leaving only questions to the blonde haired hero. "Hinata?"

"It's a long story." She said after a moment, offering him a small smile. "I'll tell you another time."

"What happened to your arm?"

"Just a scratch."

His smile left his lips as he looked over where the masked man was lying unconscious only moments ago. He had disappeared or so they thought.

"HINATA!" They both raised their heads to look at him. He was far at their left with his arms crossed over his chest again but his feet not touching the ground. Was he… flying? What shocked them the most was what he said next though. "I told you before. You'll die! A slow painful death and the ones you love the most we'll have the same fate. Like, your sister for example?" He said and disappeared.

She felt her breath hitch in her throat. She wouldn't let that happen.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

She opened the door of the hospital room and stepped inside. She walked towards the window and opened the white curtains letting the sun light fill the room. She took a deep breath before she turned to look at the two familiar sleeping forms on the two hospital beds. She sighed

Not everyone had gone through last night's attack safe and sound. Those two were a clear example of that. Sakura said they'd be ok though and that they were just resting at the moment. She laid the bouquet of flowers on the nightstand between the two beds before she walked towards the bed at her right.

She took the small bracelet from within her pocket and looked at it for a moment before laying it in the palm of the yound shinobi with the red triangle tattoos on his face whose white dog was sleeping on the floor beside his bed.

She then looked at the wrsit of the man resting on the bed on her left. He was wearing the bracelet again. He had probably regretted everything. She smiled before she stood up and walked towards the door of the room. She couldn't stay any longer. It felt too odd, too unfamiliar. Under other circumstances she would have slept on a chair by their beds the whole night just to make sure they were ok. Not that she hadn't slept in the hospital afraid for their health of course.

She had fallen asleep on a chair right outside their room with Naruto sitting by her side the whole night.

She just couldn't emotionally stand to be in the room.

She took a hold of the doorknob and when she was about to open the door, she heard his voice.

"He helped me." She turned and looked at him, her eyes meeting Shino's. He was awake. He smiled as he stole a quick glance at Kiba who was sound asleep on the other bed. "I was going to die and he helped me. '_Don't you dare harm my brother_!' He shouted at them, can you believe it?"

She felt tears welling up in her eyes but she didn't let them fall down her cheeks. She smiled at him before she too looked at Kiba for a moment.

"I'm glad" She said softly. She didn't know how to deal with all this and her tears where a clear example of that.

"Do you… do you think things can change? Do you think we can be a team again? Be friends again?" His voice came out rough from not having drank any water, yet it was holding a great hope and wish in it.

They suddenly heard Kiba groan and their eyes fell on him at once. He slowly opened his eyes, groaning yet again as the sun raises hit his face. It took him a moment before he got accustomed to the light and his dark eyes widened in shock to see Hinata in the room. He immediately sat up on his bed, definitely having not expected to see her there when he woke up.

"Hinata… what are you… doing here? I thought-"

"No matter what…" She looked between them, making sure they both heard what she had to say. "…you two will always be my brothers. Although, no, I don't think we can be a team or friends again. No yet at least."

"Hinata-" Shino tried to speak but she didn't let him finish. She had to tell them.

"Things happened between us and I… I think we all need some time to think what we've done and I guess, I'll have to think about that the most." They looked at her ready to protest. She wasn't to blame for the implosion of team eight or their friendship. She was the one trying to constantly keep them together, keep their friendship from falling, while they didn't want to hear a thing. They were at fault, Kiba and Shino, and they knew it. They had accepted it a long time ago. "I'm not innocent in the whole situation. I guess it all happened basically because of me."

"Hinata-" Kiba was the one to try and protest this time but she didn't let him finish as well.

"I knew about Shino and Hana and I supported them, I kept their relationship a secret thinking I was doing the right thing although deep inside I always knew this would happened once you found out Kiba. I should have prevented all this. I should have either told you sooner or at least try harder to keep us united after your fight with Shino." She let her tears freely ran down her cheeks, letting all the tension of everything that had happened lately, free. "I'm sorry" She said and ran outside the room.

It was her fault.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Ahhh! I'm so glad we're back home!" Naruto yelled enthusiastically and everyone laughed.

"Hey dobe! You're embarrassing us!" Sasuke shouted, making Naruto narrow his eyes at him.

"Shut it teme!"

"**You **shut it baka!"

"Well, if you ask me I think there's something wrong with the atmosphere in Konoha cause they get like that whenever we're here!" Sakura said and pointed at the two. Hinata giggled at her friends comment.

They all watched as Kiba and Akamaru ran towards the front closed gates of Konoha. Well, almost everyone…

Naruto and Sasuke were still too preoccupied with their argument to notice.

"HEY! IZUMO! KOTETSU! OPEN THE FREAKING DOORS ALREADY!" Kiba shouted with a laugh, his grin never leaving his face. With a broken arm and he still didn't seem to stop making fun of everything.

"OPENING THE _FREAKING DOORS,_ RIGHT AWAY!" Both Izumo and Kotetsu yelled back in a sing song voice. Everyone laughed again.

"Welcome back guys! How was the mission?" Kotestu said as the six shinobis walked past the gates.

Naruto and Hinata exchanged look as if saying 'They're kidding us right?'

"Well…"

"… you can say it was interesting!" Naruto finished her sentence and they laughed again.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

He walked towards his room with his loyal servant by his side.

"You seem tired, Hideo-sama. This business meeting you had outside Konoha must have tired you greatly." Gakuto said, his voice that of a scared loyal child.

"Yes" Was the only thing he said, with his voice cold like the ice, before he stepped inside the room and banked the door on his servant's face.

He threw his coat on his bed before he walked inside the small bathroom of his room.

He stood and looked at his reflection on the mirror right above the marble sink.

He closed his eyes before he raised his hand and touched them. His lips moved, mumbling words the human ear would never be able to catch, before he let his hand rest at his side.

He slowly opened his eyes again and an evil smirk crossed his face at the sight of his reflection at the mirror. His smirk widened as he looked at his eyes. One white and one purple. One Hyuga and one Mashushi.

"You'll die Hinata." He said and an evil cold laugh left his lips. "And when that happens, I'll be the only one left to possess the ultimate Hyumashu power."


End file.
